Wave Riding
by jennaravenrose
Summary: Vandal Savage has made his last mistake. He created an enemy with nothing left to lose. She's angry, powerful and has no qualms about manipulating people. She intends to make sure the legends succeed by any means necessary even if it rewrites the entire timeline and wipes her out of existence.
1. Chapter 1

Wave riding

5566 Time master's citadel

She slipped through the corridors and down to the docking bay. If the council knew what she was about to do they would surely stop her. Tampering with the timeline was forbidden altering your own was definitely frowned upon. As it was it was hard enough faking her way into the time masters when her older self was already present, simply to get her hands on a wave rider. Now all she had to do was commandeer one and she was off. The bombs she placed on the other ships, the citadel and the ship yards should keep anyone from following her to her destination. Then all she had to do was find one professor Albus Boardman and become his research assistant before the others showed up. Then it was off to destroy Savage.

She slipped into the docking bay and walked right up to the ship she had chosen. She punched in the door code and the ramp extended. She swiftly climbed on board heading for the bridge.

"I take it preparations are complete" said Gen

She flopped down in the pilot's chair and strapped in, closing her eyes briefly as the sound of Gen's voice reminded her of her mother's sweet tones.

"Yes time to get this show on the road" she said as she flicked switches and powered up the engines. A jump this far back was sure to hurt, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was the end result. She was already heading for the exit by the time those watching the bay were even aware she was taking off.

"We're being hailed captain" said Gen

She sighed, guessing who was trying to talk to her and why, before the ship had said anything at all.

"Ignore them and calculate a void jump" she said

"Yes captain" said Gen

They jumped into the time stream a few minutes later while behind them the docking bay erupted in flames.

"Where to captain?" said Gen

"St Roche Louisiana 1974, I need to reinvent myself first or I'll stick out like a sore thumb "she said

She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. She was finally doing this, she couldn't believe she had the courage to follow through.

"Gen bring up the files on the crew we are going to be joining" she said

Nine photos filled the screen along with all the information that could be found on them. Savage and his people had done a very thorough job trying to erase any mention of the heroes from the timeline. Fortunately she had the patience and time to unerase it.

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The Anubis virus had been devastating, leaving behind just one percent of the population on the entire planet. All those who had the audacity to decry Savage's rule paid for it in blood, the blood of their families. Toward the end of the second American civil war he released a designer virus on the populace, infecting food crops, livestock and water supplies so not a single thing was left untainted by his poison and nothing would grow afterwards. Except it backfired on him as well, taking out foe and ally alike. It left the world a graveyard and those who were left still rose up to fight regardless of their age only now they were fighting for food.

Riley's farm was in the middle of nowhere and still it wasn't spared. It was a small place located in a simple farming community. The fighting had been close a few times but for the most part they were isolated. Her family had lived there for several generations, even though Riley herself was adopted. This was home and these people were family, in her nine year old heart nothing could touch that. So when the news first started talking about viral outbreaks Riley's family mostly ignored them, figuring that they were in such a remote area that they would remain untouched.

Until mom started getting sick with flu like symptoms that got progressively worse, then the bruising started and finally the bleeding. Dad tried to help her by taking care of her and us, until he fell ill too. He was upstairs fighting for his last breath when Riley felt the first tickle in her throat. She quickly set her baby sister up to survive on her own and then locked herself in her room, intending to quarantine herself until she was past this.

Except her sister nearly lit the house on fire trying to cook some eggs and Riley was forced to help her. The first cough coming out of Hannah's mouth scared Riley in a way nothing ever had before. Her parents had joined the thousands that had succumbed to the disease only a few days before, leaving the two young girls to fend for themselves.

Riley was sick too and now she was worried they were both going to die. So she put Hannah to bed with a pile of water bottles if she was thirsty, some crackers for the nausea and a bucket and did the same with herself. A few days later she heard voices downstairs arguing, then the other was quickly shushed with a whispered

"She can hear you, I remember this. I'm going to say goodbye to my sister while I still can" said the woman. Someone climbed the stairs

She heard a door open down the hall then Riley passed out. She laid in bed for almost two days until she had to climb out of bed to use the restroom.

She stumbled down the hall and into her sister's room and then collapsed to her knees. Her sister had died, while she fought to continue breathing just a few doors down the hall. Numbly she made her way to the front porch and collapsed on the stairs. The tears came at some point when she stopped being numb. That was right before the army showed up, guys in hazmat suits walked through her house, declared everyone dead except her and dragged her away to be forcibly conscripted into the military.

She was put on the front lines along with all the other young survivors, or at least those that showed promising side effects. The disease didn't just kill, in that one percent of the population that survived, it altered something. Just like it did to Riley, she found out later it was due to a mutated element in the virus.

She could feel the presence of water in everything and manipulate it, an ability she took to the battlefield with her. She learned to channel her anger through it and became ruthless to a degree that it scared her commanding officers and enemies alike. When the war was over Riley refused to go home, the farm was an empty shell without her family anyways. She fought to survive on the streets like the other kids and was content to stay there until she ran into a time pirate. She took his offer because she was starving, he offered food and she wanted answers. They wanted to use her, so in the end she did nothing to help them when the time masters arrested them. The time masters took pity on her because of her age and instead returned her home. He did however give her the answers she had sought and once she got them. She turned her back on the body she had been intending to join, used what she had learned of them, without them realizing it, and stole a ship right from under their nose.

Her plan was simple and something he would never see coming because he was too arrogant to believe anyone could hurt him, he was about to have that belief dashed

"We have exited the time stream where would you like us to put down" said Gen

She sighed and then nodded

"Barataria perserve"said Riley.

She leaned forward leaning her head against her knees while she waited for her vision to return and for the room to stop spinning before she tried standing. A day later she un-latched her harness and walked to the back of the ship and changed clothes. Emerging in bell bottoms, a jaws t shirt and vans.

"Cloak and stay that way until I tell you otherwise" said Riley.

Then she emerged from the ship and made her way along a trail that led to what looked like it was destined to become some sort of walkway. She glanced back at the wave rider's position just to make sure the ship wasn't in the way of the future path before continuing on her way.

She found the school easily and fortunately their system for retaining files wasn't computerized yet, so I was quite easy to insert her name onto a list for research assistant's right next to Dr. Boardman's name. She had just finished entering it when someone returned to the office.

"Oh hello dear, have you been helped?" said the woman

"Actually no, I was just hoping to check in before I start tomorrow" said Riley

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea here let me see, what's your name dear?" said the woman

She was frowning down at the list Riley had just added her name to.

"Riley, Riley Anderson" she said with a grin.

The woman smiled back and gave her directions to the professor's classroom and a time to show up. She also had Riley fill out paperwork with contact information on it. She swore mentally when it asked for an address and phone number. She gave the future street address for where she parked her ship and her cell phone number.

As she left the office she reached into her pocket and turned her phone to vibrate. She didn't need to be an actual time master to know answering a fiftieth century device in a century long before it was invented would be a bad thing. She would have to stay on her ship until they arrived, because she didn't have a lot of money on her person, or at least not in a currency they would recognize in this time period.

Her days after that, were filled with helping the professor sort through piles and piles worth of stuff and learning to adapt to this time period so she sounded like she belonged there.

The man was brilliant but a complete pig. It took her awhile to integrate herself into the man's good graces but Riley had always been a bit persistent. Still it took her six months to get him to trust her anywhere near his life's work. She was still sorting the important stuff, mostly what contained information on Savage and the two hawks.

She wanted everything to be easily accessible when they showed up, plus she was beginning to get fond of the old man and regretted that he would be dying soon. The day of the event, she locked up her wave rider, set it on autopilot should it be discovered and need to leave before she returned, stuffed a change of clothes into her bag that day and left the books on the ship. It was show time and she was both nervous and excited.

She was finally going to meet them. She felt like she was about to meet celebrities. She was tidying up the professor's workspace and gathering the last of the files he would need, while he sat at his desk typing up a paper he was working on. The typewriter stopped for some reason and she glanced up. The old man was snoring peacefully at his desk.

She ducked down behind the table, to shove the book, and papers exactly where the old man would look for it and also because she didn't want to be seen yet. Afraid they would ask her to leave if they saw her first. She heard a group of people walk through the classroom then knock on the professor's office door.

She froze where she was behind the counter and smirked when one exclaimed they were too late. She kept the snort of derision to herself, as if even death could keep that old man from this meeting. She heard the professor wake and heard him exclaim

"You're them" said Albus

What followed was an awestruck exclamation about the hawks past lives and then one of them said something about Vandal Savage. She resisted the urge to curl her lips into a snarl that his name seemed to always invoke in her. She quickly schooled her features and forced the hate back down.

"Yes it's over here" said Albus

Immediately going to the wrong stack. She shoved the last thing she was holding in her arms into place with a sigh and stood up.

"Actually no its not, I put everything on that subject into this stack" said Riley

"Oh Riley, I was wondering where you had gone" said Albus

She smirked if the man hadn't been taking a cat snooze he would have known she had never left. Albus went to the pile and blew the dust off of the dirtiest of the tomes, she waved her hand in front of her nose. She really should have dusted those.

The man was excited and virtually everyone in the group was ignoring her except for the male hawk, who was just eyeing her with curiosity, when she followed the group to listen to what the old man had to say. She had to admit she found his work fascinating. When Albus claimed the two hawks were his parents that had died when he was ten, she was in shock because she didn't know that.

She listened intently to what the old man was saying, even though she had read most of it already. Standing there with the objects of the story made all the difference to the tale, as she could see that the male hawk, Khufu remembered most of his past. She wondered briefly if he remembered what it felt like to die as well.

The strange man who had asked about Savage was asking the professor if he knew where Savage would be next, using the fact Savage had killed his parents as incentive. Riley knew exactly where he would be but she didn't dare share that knowledge. To do so would raise the groups suspicions and could get her left here. Albus was telling them, what was his best educated guess, when something chimed from the strange man. Stein suddenly clutched his head.

"Something's wrong with Jefferson" said Stein

She resisted the urge to smirk, even she knew enough to turn off her ringtones. The man looked embarrassed and turned his back on the group to answer his phone.

"We have to go" he announced as he headed towards the door.

The others looked confused and he bit out reluctantly that their ship was under attack before running out the door. The hawks hesitated, refusing to leave without their son. The time master had no choice but to agree to what they asked when they demanded to take Albus with them, they took off as a group. Riley quickly scooped up the book and shoved it into her backpack before booking it out the door after them.

Albus had given them his notes but those were in no way complete. They were running as a group now and heading towards the park. At one point the hawks vanished leaving Albus behind with the group, so Riley grabbed his hand and urged him forward. Two of the men were arguing about something that got left on the ship when something near them exploded. In reflex she grabbed the professor and pulled him down.

She heard a whooshing sound and looked up. Landing right in front of her was the male hawk. She stared in disbelief for a few seconds, she had thought that part was embellished but apparently not.

"Come on Albus I've got you" said the hawk man as he helped the professor to his feet.

Riley climbed to her feet at the same time and rushed after the professor, as the hawk man turned to meet the advancing time soldiers. It took every ounce of her self-control to not join in on this fight. The fact it would give away what she could do, at a time she couldn't afford to explain her origins, stayed her hand.

So instead, she grabbed the professor when he stumbled and took cover with the others behind some old farm equipment. The strange man from earlier pulled out a twenty third century sidearm and began shooting.

She resisted the urge to smirk when Boardman called it a laser pistol. Time master her mind mentally classified and resolved herself to be especially wary around this man. The big guy leading the attacking time master's forces threw a grenade in their direction. It landed close to their feet and, since Riley wasn't too keen on losing a limb and doubted the others wanted to either, she encased the projectile in water and made it roll away as if the man had bad aim.

The grenade exploded but it was a greatly reduced charge. They still threw themselves away from it. The old man in their group, Stein she could have sworn his name was, climbed to his feet said something about bonding with someone and told the time master to cover him, Palmer followed suit and the time master did just as he was asked, albeit he swore some beneath his breath.

She watched as Stein and Palmer booked it towards the ship. If she had any doubts that these were the right people, the presence of that ship dispelled it. Something thudded into the dirt beside her and she turned to see what it was.

"Shit!"said Riley

When she noticed it was another grenade. The time master turned, saw what she was looking at and reached for Albus to pull him out of the way before that Chrono's guy armed it. Which he was doing right now. She had just started encasing it like the last one when someone ran over Chrono's, then accused them of picking a fight with Boba Fett.

The time master rolled his eyes, then reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Come on dear, can't leave you here now" said the time master

So she pulled the professor to his feet and they ran for the ship just as a flaming man and a guy in some sort of flying suit emerged. Both hawks were executing aerial attacks on their opponents, smashing them in the head with what looked like a mace or straight out attacking their opponents.

There was gun fire everywhere and the time master was literally dragging them through it. Albus stumbled and nearly took them all down with him. She saw the blood before he was dragged to his feet by both hawks. The time master grabbed her hand again and practically threw her through the door to his ship.

Albus collapsed inside the door and the AI unit announced he was fatally wounded. The time master was climbing the stairs shouting orders, most likely heading for the bridge. She smirked when he told the AI unit to take them anywhere but here as he walked away. She leaned on the wall trying to catch her breath. The others followed him up the stairs as the hawks led Albus to the sickbay, which fortunately was not too far. She followed the others after the captain, pausing in the doorway for a completely justified awe struck moment, until the male hawk put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to a seat.

From the looks on everyone's faces none of them were happy with the time master and she worried that they might hurt the man. The time master had assumed the captain's seat and the others quickly climbed into theirs. Riley took the sole remaining empty seat. She pretended to fiddle with her harness and the big guy next to her reached over and latched it for her.

"Might want to hang on doll, ride gets a bit bumpy" said the man

She reached for the handles on the harness as if she was about to ride a roller coaster. If she remembered her first time jump it felt like exactly that. She felt the vibration of the engines and tightened her grip as the ship left the ground. The vessel kept shuddering as if it were still taking ground fire and Riley hoped she didn't just seriously miscalculate and get on a ship that was about to be shot down.

She felt the engines throttle down and knew they were in the zone. Gideon informed the captain that the ship had sustained some damage and the captain climbed out of his seat to handle it, sounding completely irritated. He briefly explained about the temporal zone then got snarky when Stein made a simple observation. He had just popped open a panel to start the repairs, all the while chiding everybody about their mistakes. Riley firmly resisted the urge to add he had made a few of his own.

Riley just sat there and observed the group interact, so far everyone seemed to be ignoring her impromptu inclusion in this party. The captain turned to say something else and the hawk woman hit him, then pinned him to a wall and demanded answers, the others backed up her demand and he relented. When he started to explain that he was a time master, was being the operative word, the blond woman in white punched him too.

"will you people please stop hitting me" said Rip

She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

He started being honest with them and Riley realized that Rip had lied to them all to get them to join up.

"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't kill you?" said the big guy

Riley swallowed nervously. If they killed the time master while they were in limbo the ship would automatically shut down leaving them stranded with a limited oxygen supply.

"Ditto the arsonist" said Stein

That shocked Riley for a few seconds because Stein didn't seem the murdering sort and she hardly thought lying constituted a murdering offense.

"Because Gideon won't obey your commands and you'll be stuck here forever" said Rip

"Who's Gideon?" said Riley

She knew already, but perhaps reminding them there was a neutral third party aboard would keep them from killing the man. The time master turned towards her as if just realizing she was here.

"Wonderful, just bloody wonderful" said Rip

Riley gave him an indignant and slightly offended look.

"Well fuck you too spaceman, you're the one that dragged me onto your ship" said Riley

Several of the others laughed at her exclamation.

"It's a time vessel not a space ship" said Rip

Palmer decried the mission as false, Rip defended it stating that he hadn't been lying about the ruthlessness of Savage. Riley knew he was telling the truth because she had proof in a bag at her feet and she had experienced it first-hand.

Though the latter she could not share. Rip went on the explain time master rules, ones Riley would see were never written if she had her way, forcing someone to be alone didn't make them a better person just a lonely one. When he explained what happed to his family Riley almost cried for the poor man.

In a defeated voice he offered to take them all home after he finished the repairs and Boardman stabilized. Then he turned back to repairing the ship. The hawks went to check on Boardman and the others left the room to think, only Riley remained in the room with the time master.

He seemed to be focused on the repairs and she didn't want to distract him. She wandered towards the view screen and looked outside. Everywhere was filled with swirling green cloud like masses that resembled cotton candy.

"Far out!" she whispered and turned to find the time master staring at her.

"Are you really a time traveler?" said Riley

She let the wonder and awe seep into her voice, some of it she didn't have to feign. She honestly thought traveling through time was awesome. He smirked at her.

"Yes, yes I am, I don't think we've been properly introduced I'm Rip, Captain Rip Hunter and you are?" said Rip

"Riley, Riley Anderson" said Riley

She knew if he looked her up that it would show the false boring future she had supplied, complete with soap opera obsession and five cats. Nothing at all that would affect the timeline and possibly the Disney character.

"Why don't you go down to the med bay and get something for your nerves. I am sure the professor will be glad of your company, I'll take you home just as soon as I can okay" said Rip

She smiled at him, now that he mentioned it, she should be a bit shaken up by that experience or at least pretending to be. She fisted her hands into her skirt in what would look like a nervous gesture to anyone else.

"Thank you, that's sweet of you, maybe a little tea will calm my nerves" said Riley She was pouring on the shy act just a little bit. He nodded and smiled at her.

"The med bay is down the stairs and to your left, the galley is three doors down from it on the opposite side" he said

She knew why he wanted her out of the room Riley was no fool. He intended to look her up and didn't want her to hear the pertinent details about her future. She exited the room and walked down the stairs.

"Gideon?" said Rip

"She has just exited the stairs on the lower level sir" said Gideon

"Good, now look her up, let's just hope she doesn't add to our woes" said Rip

He turned back to the repairs as Gideon rattled off that she was destined to become a supermarket checker slash crazy cat lady in the future.

"Well nothing there, good, one less thing to worry about" said Rip

Riley was in fact doing the exact opposite of being a nuisance. She had poked her head into the med bay to check on the professor and found both hawks cradling each other, the woman appeared to be weeping. The guy looked up at her approach.

"How is…"said Riley

Carter shook his head no and Riley responded with a frown.

"Gone" said Carter

Riley looked at the old man lying so peacefully on the table, a twinge of regret and loss passed through her and then was quickly replaced with resolve. She had to get them to see Rip's point of view. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes and wiped them absently.

"At least you got a chance to say goodbye" said Riley softly

Then she left the room before she said anything more. She headed for the galley and entered the room. She found Stein trying to find something.

"What are you looking for?" said Riley

The man jumped slightly.

"Sorry didn't mean to startle you" said Riley

Holding her hand out in a placating gesture

"It's quiet all right dear, I was just looking for some tea" said Stein

Riley pulled open the pantry door.

"Have you tried this one?" said Riley

"Actually yes but it appeared to be stuck" said Stein

"Naw just has a boat latch, see" said Riley

She pointed out the small inner latch that looked like a child proofing drawer latch.

"Oh okay, thank you..."said Stein

He deliberately left the end of that statement open.

"Riley, here it is" said Riley producing a box of tea bags.

"Professor Stein, nice to meet you dear, sorry you got sucked into this" said Stein He sighed in relief when she held up a box of tea and turned back to the row of appliances with a frown on his face.

"Now all we have to do is figure out which one is the tea kettle." said Stein


	2. Chapter 2

Wave 2

Riley knew which one it was of course but made a show of searching with the old man. Just when he was about to give up in frustration, Riley announced she had found it. Of course that was because she really was craving tea by that time. She helped Stein figure out the faucet and the old man figured out how to work the tea kettle. She found them both cups and dropped a bag in each. Once the water was done she poured them both a cup.

"So how long did you work for professor Boardman?" said Stein

"About a year why?" said Riley

The old man nodded as if she told him some secret.

"I'm going to go check on Jefferson thanks for the tea" said Stein

He walked out of the door holding a tea cup in one hand. Riley frowned she had effected two hopefully the others would decide to stay on their own. She noticed another cup and pulled it down, poured another cup, then opened the freezer. She found an ice pack. Tucked it under her arm and grabbed both cups. Now all she had to do was convince a certain time master into letting her stay.

She climbed the stairs with her burden and entered the bridge. Rip was still working on the ship but this time he had at least three panels open and was swearing profusely. It was obvious he had not noticed her presence yet because what was coming out of his mouth would have made a soldier blush.

He punched the wall in frustration and she cleared her throat to get his attention. He turned towards her.

"Miss Anderson what can I do for you?" said Rip

She held out the icepack

"Thought you could use it, you're starting to bruise already, and I brought you some tea, not sure if you like cream or sugar so I brought them both" said Riley The man smiled at her and took the offered icepack. He rested it against his cheek and eyed her warily.

"Thank you" said Rip

She opened her mouth to say you're welcome and he cut her off.

"No" said Rip

She gave him a confused look.

"Excuse me?" said Riley

"Miss Anderson while I do appreciate your charming company, this isn't your fight, you're going home, just as soon as I am done here" said Rip

She opened her mouth to protest and he cut her off again. That was beginning to get annoying and she briefly thought about punching him herself.

"We are about to take on the most dangerous psychopath in history and I'm not dragging anyone with me that has no useful skills" said Rip

She snorted no useful...ooh the prat.

"Wow I'm starting to see why they punched you, you're a bit of a prat aren't you" said Riley

He frowned and opened his mouth to protest her outburst. She ignored him and walked towards her bag, opened it and retrieved the book. She walked back to the time master and dropped the huge book on the table next to him with a resounding thud.

"I'm the only one of you who thought to grab that, useful enough for you?" said Riley

She started walking for the door. Rip stared after her with an open mouth. The others started entering the room as she was leaving.

"Where are you going?" said Palmer

"To get the captain a fork" said Riley

She walked through the door but paused on the stairs when the others passed her. She wanted to hear what they had to say, plus as a lark she really was going to give that man a fork, he would need it for all the crow he was going to be eating. The hawks paused on the stairs next to her.

"When you get a moment we need to talk to you" said Carter

Riley simply nodded yes and they moved along. She waited on the stairs and listened as they all agreed to continue on with the time master. She smirked and turned to go then she heard.

"We will stay on one condition" said Carter

Curious Riley paused, just what was that condition?

"The girl stays, Albus wanted us to look after her" said Carter

She heard Rip groan and chuckled. Guess you're stuck with me time master she mused and entered the galley. She went straight for the silverware drawer, grabbed the aforementioned fork and headed back to the bridge.

"It's going to be dangerous, I cannot guarantee her safety" said Rip

She walked through the door.

"You won't have to, we will" said Kendra

She knew what they were talking about but had to ask just to not sound suspicious.

"What is dangerous?" said Riley

"Killing Savage" said the big guy

She gave them her best wide eyed surprised look.

"You're going to kill someone?" said Riley

She looked around the group, the nods of ascent and hard eyes made her absurdly happy.

"if you want out, now is the time to say something doll" said Leonard

She frowned and pretended to be considering his words. In truth she was but for different reasons, then she saw the professor's face in her mind's eye, a battlefield littered with the bodies of children, with funeral pyres doting the landscape and something hardened in her eyes. If she could change any part of that she would even if it meant dying as well.

"No I'm in, let's get this asshole" said Riley

Rip eyed her for a few minutes and Riley wondered if she should have waited a few seconds more and not sounded so eager. The big guy clapped her on the back "Knew there was something I liked about you legs" said the man

He saw the fork in her hands and laughed.

"So how do we find this guy?" said Sara

"Anywhere there's a large gathering of terrorists and criminals selling weapons" said Riley

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Or at least that's what fits his past patterns" said Riley nervously

"Right too true, thank you Miss Anderson" said Rip

He walked into what looked like an office and picked up Albus's note pad. Riley smirked, obviously he had intended to use the professor's notes to decipher Savage's location. Too bad for him the professor wrote most of his stuff in coded short hand. Rip flipped open the notebook and frowned at the page.

"I had hoped the professor had not died in vain, but these notes are unusable" said Rip

"Couldn't we just go back and save him, he is our son" said Kendra

Riley winced because she knew what the time master was going to have to explain. The news was sure to hurt them and for some reason Riley felt bad about that.

"Look I'm sorry, you can't go back and undo events that you participated in, time would implode on itself and create a temporal vortex" said Rip

"Which is not as cool as it sounds" said Palmer

Riley frowned and shoved that info to the back of her mind for future reference. "Forgetting physics for a moment we still have to figure out where Savage will be" said Sara

"I believe I can help with that" said Riley

She held her hand out for the book, Rip gave her a confused look.

"It's in some sort of code" said Rip

"I know, fortunately I have the key" said Riley

He laid the book in her out stretched hand and she flipped it open. Everyone looked at her expectantly, as she flipped through the book and read the most recent entry.

"Norway October of this year, err we still are in 1975 aren't we?" said Riley

"Yes of course, do strap in my dear, Norway it is, Gideon did you get that?" said Rip

"Yes captain, we should be there in a few minutes" said Gideon

Rip headed to the pilot's chair and Riley quickly strapped in, clutching the small book in her hand as she felt the ship switch directions and assume a heading for Norway. She didn't want to even think about how fast they were going, to be able to get to Norway from Louisiana in only a few minutes. She felt the ship touch down and Rip told Gideon to disguise the ship as an alpine meadow. For a second Riley had an absurd thought about sheep.

"Captain I have identified the location for the gathering, its down by the docks in one of the warehouses" said Gideon

Rip lifted the harness and arm of his chair and stood up.

"Now that we have identified what Savage is doing here, we can capture him" said Rip

"Capture? I thought you said we were going to kill him?" said Riley

"Does it matter as long as we neutralize the threat?" said Ray

She wanted to say hell yeah it mattered, but everyone was staring at her.

"I take it you have a plan?" said Jax

Rip frowned ever so slightly, which to Riley meant that, no he didn't have a plan. "Yes well first things first, we need to get in there and to do that we must blend in" said Rip

"Yes, but what does one wear to a gathering of terrorists?" said Sara

"Fortunately the wave rider has a fabrication room, that can make any indigenous fabric for the time period" said Rip

Everyone was giving him a say what look, so he reiterated.

"Fashion" said Rip

"You have a room that makes clothes" said Jax

"Yes doesn't everyone?" said Rip

"Ah no, we have closets, what time period did you say you were from again?" said Riley

Rip smirked but ignored the question. "2166" muttered Kendra as Riley drew near her.

"Wait, are you all going?" said Riley

"Yeah why, you got a problem with that dove?" said Mick

"Actually yeah, if you walk in there as a group you lose the element of surprise and from all of the professor's notes, Savage can somehow sense their presence" said Riley

She pointed at the two hawks

"He can?" both hawks said at the same time.

"And you know how much about infiltrating a criminal gathering?" said Snart "Nothing, but it still sounds like a horrible plan" said Riley

"How so?" said Jax

"Well for one it exposes all of you as a group and if something goes wrong, like say one of them somehow manages to get ahold of your tech, it could do a huge amount of damage" said Riley

Everyone was giving her strange looks, she gave the time master a look that plainly said help me out here.

"I am afraid Miss Anderson is quite correct, it would be disastrous on a tremendous scale to the entirety of the timeline" said Rip

Mick frowned at her.

"She's right, strategically speaking going in as a group is folly" said Stein

Rip was eyeing her warily but right now she didn't care, she could smooth over the time master's rumpled feathers later.

"What would you suggest?" said Sara

All eyes turned to her including Rip's.

"Separate into different groups, leave the future tech at home or on the ship rather and make sure you two hang back, we can't afford to tip our hand with someone like Savage or we'll lose any chance we have of getting to him" said Riley

The others seemed to be considering her advice.

"It's risky to go in without our gear" said Palmer

"It's riskier to go in with it Mr. Palmer" said Rip

Riley started for just a second, did he just back her up.

"Hate to say it but kids right, here honey hold this I've got to change clothes" said Rory

He set a huge gun in her arms and walked into the fabrication room. Snart groaned pulled his weapon out and eyed it forlornly and then laid it on top of Mick's gun. The guns which were both huge dwarfed her and she was forced to sit down or risk dropping the heavy weapons. She looked up at Palmer who was waiting by the door.

"Mr. Palmer it will be perfectly safe aboard my ship" said Rip

The man swore and started peeling off tech.

"I know it will because I trust her, with it" said Palmer

Deliberately emphasizing that he trusted Riley more than the time master at the moment

"Here watch this for me sweetheart and stick close we may need it" said Palmer. Then he vanished into the room to change. Sara passed her with a smirk and a shake of her head. Rip ran his hand down his face and then rested his hand behind his neck. She hazarded a glance in his direction and gave him a sheepish grin. She knew the fact that the team he assembled, trusted a strange stray girl they picked up along the way more than him, had to bite. After they emerged they once again followed Riley's advice much to the consternation of the time master.

"Well at least you mitigated some of the potential damage" said Rip

As the teams took off, one in the direction of the meeting the other towards a ridge overlooking it. Rip intended to monitor the situation from the ship because as he stated, him and Vandal had crossed paths before and Savage may recognize him. When the others had filed out they left her here with the time master after the hawks warned him to keep Riley safe for some reason.

"She's as safe as she would be in her mother's arms" said Rip

Riley wondered if this was a bad time to mention her mother had been murdered only a few feet away from her when she was still a baby. Yeah given the wary looks on the hawk man's face it was most definitely a bad time. The door closed and Riley eyed the weapons in her arms. They were ungainly and very heavy.

"You can leave them by the door if you like, that way they can retrieve them quickly if need be" said Rip

He seemed inclined to be nice to her for some reason and Riley wondered why. She did as he suggested, taking the time to line them up so all they had to do was grab them, before following Rip back into the bridge area.

"They've really taken a shine to you" said Rip

She gave him a confused look, was he jealous?

"It's alright though, at least you didn't lie to them from the start" said Rip

She barely caught the flinch before she did it.

"I'm sure they will forgive you in time" said Riley

Ending the statement with a smirk, the time master caught the joke and chuckled.

"Time, very funny" said Rip

He walked towards a table in the center of the room.

"We can monitor them from here" said Rip

He touched part of the screen and both teams appeared on the monitors, in time for them to see Snart jack an invite from one of the attendees. Riley chuckled as they tried to bluff their way into the auction and Stein actually succeeded. They vanished inside and Rip sighed in relief. The hawks were currently busy taking out the other attendee's guards that were stationed on the same ridge.

"All clear on this end" said Carter

"Now we wait" said Rip

She was watching the screens, so she didn't notice the time master was staring at her.

"I saw the flinch, I will get you home to your family I promise, I shouldn't have involved you in this at all" said Rip

So that was what he was thinking, that she was homesick or something.

"I'm not mad about that, besides you did save my life out there, so I suppose I should be thanking you for that" said Riley

He snorted

"Yeah thanking me, for embroiling you in a situation that could get you killed at any time, when you should be at home watching the telly, not risking your life with us" said Rip

She snorted that was seriously boring when you put it that way. She had to dispel his notion that he was protecting her if he brought her home, these people were her best chance at ending Savage.

"If you had left me there instead of pulling me onto the ship, what would those guys have done with me?" said Riley

The wince told her the answer before he said it

"They would have killed you because you were not integral to the timeline" said Rip

"Just like the rest of your team. There's no rush to get me back and I don't have a family or friends to miss me, but thank you anyways" said Riley

He gave her a sad look.

"I'm sorry I didn't know" said Rip

"Wasn't in my file?" said Riley

"No, just what will happen in your timeline, how did you know I looked you up?" said Rip

She gave him a wry look.

"Because I would have in your position" said Riley

She shrugged

"Relax man your just doing your job its cool" said Riley

"Speaking of which you're dealing with all this exceedingly well, I'm surprised you haven't freaked out by now" said Rip

She knew what he was implying and it was way too close to the truth for her liking. She was definitely going to have to redirect his line of thinking.

"I don't think it's really hit me yet. I am sure when it does I will freak as you put it, I guess I'm just good with weird, why?" said Riley

He smiled at her and nodded, she could tell her deflection didn't entirely work just by the look on his face when he started prying.

"How did they die?" said Rip

She started to say the truth or at least what she could reveal of it but then backtracked because she couldn't answer any questions about it.

"Mom got sick and died and dad kind of turned to the bottle just a little too much" said Riley

It was close, when mom had been in the last stages of the disease he had drunk himself into a stupor just to avoid dealing with what was happening to his wife, or the terror of his kids. No that was Riley who had to step up and be the rock for her sister.

"So you have no parents, any siblings?" said Rip

She shook her head no.

"No, no friends, no family and now no boss, so no one to miss me, why were you thinking of recruiting me or something?" said Riley

He smiled

"Actually yes" said Rip

She froze in total shock at his candor.

"I thought they kicked you out" said Riley

"They have but it's not the first time they have done so, it's just something to think about for the future" said Rip

She smiled at him in response. Something to think about indeed, right after I change that no fraternizing, no relationship rule. Mr. Hunter you don't know it yet but you're the template for the new time masters, one whose charge would be to do something instead of just watching time unfold.

"So your something of a rogue are you?" said Riley

Her tone was teasing and just a bit flirtatious. Rip blushed ever so slightly.

"Just a bit" he said with a smile.

It was at that time he noticed the team was running for the ship. The hawks and a flaming man were giving them cover fire

"Ah shit!" said Rip

"Gideon..."said Rip

"On it" said Gideon

The bay door opened and they rushed in grabbed their weapons and returned fire on the chasing terrorists. Before Rip could protest Palmer had his suit on and was out the door. The fight was rapidly becoming a free for all until savage stepped outside and both hawks decided to comfort him leaving their teammates to fend for themselves. One of the terrorists got in a good shot and a bit of Palmer's tech was knocked loose.

"He armed the bomb" said Sara over her headset.

"Get back to the ship now" ordered Rip

"We can't just leave it, we have to disarm it" said Sara

"She's right it will take out most of Norway if we don't" said Jax

"That's absolutely not..."said Rip

The others were ignoring him however as they raced to get the bomb far enough away from the town so they could contain the explosion without killing everyone. Rip screamed in frustration and threw the earpiece across the room. Riley watched the screen in fascination as the hawks flew the bomb farther up the coast and off shore to an island. Then Jax landed next to the bomb and somehow managed to absorb the explosion.

"Far out!" said Riley in awe.

Rip retreated to his office until they all filtered back into the ship. They were met with sarcastic clapping, then he chided them and pointed out that Palmer had lost some of his tech despite the precautions Riley had insisted on.

"So what's the big deal, we just go get it back" said Sara

"The big deal Miss Lance is that not only did you all ignore a direct order but you altered the timeline, this... is star city 2025"said Rip

He hit a button and burning skyscrapers appeared. The room went silent in shock as they took in the level of destruction wrought on the city.

"What the hell…"said Carter

"Savage's people reverse engineer Mr. Palmer's technology and this is the result" said Rip

Everyone looked at Palmer and he looked down in shame.

"Is it too late to stop it?" said Kendra

"Fortunately time is like cement it takes a while to become permanent" said Rip Everyone sighed in relief.

"So we just retrieve the tech before they reverse engineer it" said Sara

"And burn any notes they may have made" said Riley

"Yeah, but how do we even find where they are keeping it?" said Jax

Everyone looked at Palmer expectantly.

"We don't need to find Vandal. All we have to do is find the piece of my suit, which is made out of a reactive alloy based on a dwarf star, which emits alpha particles, neither of which exist in this time period" said Palmer

She could tell he still felt guilty but the fact he was able to do something to avert disaster was lifting the burden somewhat.

"Great now all we need is some way to detect it" said Jax

"Actually I believe I can help with that, or at least my twenty five year old self can, I was messing around with alpha particles and made a detector of a sort" said Stein

"No, no, no, that is a very bad idea interacting with your past self can have disastrous consequences for your entire timeline" said Rip

He started to say something to the effect that he forbade it and the hawks interrupted him.

"We found this in Albus's pocket, it's an article on the dagger that was used to kill us in our first life. In central city we learned that objects associated with our first life can be used to kill Savage. It says some Russian collector bought it back in St. Roche"said Kendra

Snart took the article from her hands.

"It would be very easy to steal it" said Snart

She could guess what they were thinking, and probably what they had been thinking about when they joined up, this ride was an opportunity to steal as much as they could and not get caught doing it. Riley snagged the article from his hands and read it over.

"This name seems familiar for some reason" said Riley

"Oh really how so?" said Rip

She ignored the suspicion in his voice and walked over to the notepad and began flipping pages.

"Come on I know it's here" said Riley under her breath

"What's there?" said Palmer

"A list of all the alias' Savage has used over the years, he tends to recycle them every few decades" said Riley

"You think the collector might be Savage?" said Kendra

"It would make sense, who else would be interested enough in that particular dagger to pay several million dollars for it?" said Riley

Everyone was giving her considering looks.

"Right then, you three track down young professor Stein, Riley you keep trying to find that list and" said Rip

"We'll go steal the dagger" said Palmer

Snart gave him a considering look.

"No we'll steal the dagger" said Snart

"I'm going with you" said Palmer

"I've got a partner" said Snart

"Who I trust even less than you" said Palmer

"So long as you stay out of the way hair" said Rory

"Fine I guess it's back to St Roche then" said Rip

"Course laid in for America" said Gideon

Everyone headed for their seats. Riley was still flipping through the book when they took off.


	3. Chapter 3

Wave 3

Riley was certain she was correct. The problem was she couldn't just use Gideon to confirm it, because Rip was sure to have them locked out. That Englishman was insufferable when it came to protecting the timeline. She wondered absently if he knew how it would end, would he still try to protect the status quo.

Sara, the professor and Jax were walking towards the exit all dressed like typical university students of the seventies. Sara was wearing go- go boots and didn't appear to be happy about it. Part of her wanted to follow them, but she knew if she stepped foot off this ship in this time period Rip would more than likely ditch her and she didn't feel like chasing after the stupid git, when she was supposed to be chasing Savage.

"Well?" said Rip

"I don't know, there's no photos of him anywhere and you won't let me check through Gideon" said Riley

He snorted and gave her a wary look

"Gideon look up Ivanko Izenvich for me" said Rip

"All you had to do is ask" said Rip

As he walked away from her and into his den. She mimicked his words sarcastically while his back was turned. Images filled the screen but they were too blurry or far away to make out any details. All she could tell was that the man had dark hair but that could describe anyone at all. She groaned in frustration and fisted her hands into her hair.

She simply hated not knowing something especially something this vital. She would be sending them in essentially blind and it pissed her off to no end. She just hoped the others were having more luck from their end.

She stood and paced. She really needed to find a place on this ship she could use her talents without Gideon being able to record her. She turned to pace back in the opposite direction and came face to face with the time master.

"That's not much help you know" said Rip

She frowned at him, she was nervous so what.

"Come on you must be getting as stir crazy as I am, let's go get a pizza or something or whatever it is they do in this time period" said Rip

He was smiling but she could see the deception under the surface. Though she was curious just what his game was.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" said Riley

She said with a flirtatious smirk. Rip blushed just a bit.

"As a friend of course" said Rip, back tracking just to be safe.

"Would you like to change? I can wait" said Rip

She saw the hope in his eyes and realized he wanted her out of the room for some reason. When she had talked to Jax earlier he had said Rip had initially knocked them all out with some sort of flashing device and they all woke up on a roof top.

So that was his game get her off the ship, then zap her and ditch her somewhere. "Naw I'm good with what I'm wearing" said Riley

He looked vaguely disappointed and Riley forced away the urge to smirk. Gonna have to work harder than that time master, if you want to get rid of me. Rip opened his mouth to say something else and Carter walked into the room

"Ah Riley just the person I need to talk to, we're you planning on leaving?" said Carter

"Actually Rip just asked me to dinner but I have time, what did you want to talk to me about?" said Riley

The hawk man looked vaguely surprised glancing over at Rip to confirm her words, then nodding as something private passed between them. So that was what was up, they were going to ask her to leave.

He walked her towards the door and Riley almost felt relieved as the sun washed over her. She stepped out on the grass and could feel the rush of water under her feet. She almost sighed in relief but quickly quelled it because she was being watched.

"Look Kendra and I have been talking and we've come to a decision, this is too dangerous. We can't continue to risk your life just because our son was fond of you. We want you to stay here, we've talked to Rip and he's agreed this place is the safest for you" said Carter

She wanted to laugh at him. Safe, who the fuck wants safe? I've got a job to do damn it and I don't need someone trying to keep me from doing it out of some misguided attempt to keep me safe.

"What if I don't want to stay here?" said Riley

Carter sighed and looked down, took a deep breath and started to say that he didn't care, but Riley was ignoring him. She turned on her heel and walked back inside the ship. If he wanted her off his ship, he was going to have to throw her off himself. Rip watched her walk in, walk right past him and farther into the ship.

She headed for her bunk and flopped down on the bed. If she didn't need to do this so badly, she would have gladly washed her hands of the infuriating English man from the start.

"You told her?" said Rip

She narrowed her eyes at the subterfuge.

"Yeah she doesn't want to stay" said Carter

She heard Rip snort

"Of course she doesn't this is probably the most exciting thing that's ever happened to her, pity she won't remember it" said Rip

She smirked so that was his game. He was going to stun her and then tamper with her memory and leave her there. Well not if she could help it.

There was a half-finished cup of tea sitting on the table next to her. She quickly called the liquid to her hand and shorted out the lock with it. Now even Gideon wouldn't be able to get the door open. Can't get to me, can't get me off the ship. Childish yes but who cares.

It was about that time that Stein and the others came back to the ship with the detector. Young Stein had been right behind them following without them knowing he was even there. She could hear the two Steins arguing with each other and tried not to laugh.

"Miss Anderson can you come out here please?" said Rip

She smirked, nope no can do cap you're stuck with me, no matter what bird brain tells you. She faked a dramatic sigh and walked over to the door. She waved her hand across the panel and as predicted nothing happened. She was now officially locked in her room.

"Ah I would, but there seems to be a bit of a problem with the door" said Riley

She tried to keep the amusement out of her voice really she did.

"Gideon?" said Rip

"She does not appear to be lying captain, there appears to be some sort of malfunction with the door release mechanism" said Gideon

The ship sounded baffled and Riley grinned.

"Oh bloody hell, just hang in there Miss Anderson we will have you out in no time, what the hell is he doing here?" said Rip

"You know what I don't want to know, I take it you got what you were after?" said Rip

"Yep, where's Riley?" said Jax

"It appears that Miss Anderson is currently trapped in her room" said Rip

"You can get her out can't you?" said Jax

"Yes, yes of course, just go get the piece of Palmer's suit and get back here and don't forget the notes. Hopefully by then Mr. Palmer, Mr. Snart, and Mr. Rory will have retrieved the dagger" said Rip

"Okay "said Jax

Riley listened as he walked away. She was already making plans. If what she read of the timeline was correct, at some point they lose Carter, and while she liked the birdman well enough, he wasn't important in the long run at least not enough to risk being left here over.

She was right about the dagger's owner, she knew she was, but if she couldn't convince the others into letting her stay, then she would have to do this on her own. Which meant she was taking those notes with her, whether they liked it or not.

Now all she had to do was make it past a certain time master. She briefly thought about shooting him, then vetoed it; she needed the time masters in this timeline to focus on him, which meant he stayed breathing.

Her glance fell on her bag and she smirked. She could however fake him out, tell him off and make him rethink. She shoved her things back into her bag, making it seem as though she intended to heed their wishes and leave, making sure to include the notebook where they could see it sticking out of her bag. She flung the bag strap over her shoulder just as the door slid open.

Rip straightened with a smirk.

"There that did it, seems a bit of liquid shorted out the lock, so sorry about that. Have no idea how that could have happened" said Rip

He sounded pleased with himself. She walked past him, as if she was sad to be going. He never noticed her liberate his gun from his side as she passed. Without a word she walked into his den, shoved all the loose sheets inside of it and closed the huge book. She shoved it into her bag.

"Miss Anderson what are you doing?" said Rip

"Taking back my property" said Riley

"That's Albus's property not yours" said Carter

"Well he entrusted it to me and I'm the only one who can read it" said Riley

She saw Rip reaching into his coat pocket, assumed he was reaching for a weapon and pulled out the gun she had stolen.

"Drop it please or I will shoot him" said Riley

The time master froze and so did Carter, because now Riley had a gun to his head.

"Two fingers, nice and slow" said Riley

He slowly withdrew his hand and in it was something that looked like a black Wii remote.

"I wasn't going to hurt you, it only knocks you out and erases memories, please do not make this difficult Miss Anderson" said Rip

"Drop it and kick it away from you" said Riley

With a sigh Rip did as she asked. He held up his hands imploringly

"The back up in your sleeve too" said Riley

With a groan he did as she asked.

"Please Miss Anderson I implore you, I need the information in those books without it I have no way of saving my family. Please think about what you're doing. If you walk out that door with those books you are dooming the world." said Rip

He was giving her a very sad heart wrenching look.

"Wow that was beautiful, I would clap but well my hands are a bit occupied, you missed your calling Mr. Hunter you should have been a poet" said Riley

"Well err thank you but..."said Rip

The com system chimed and Rip hazarded a look down at it. It kept chiming like a telephone that wouldn't stop ringing.

"You might want to get that" said Riley

Kendra chose that moment to walk in, followed by the rest of the team

"Riley what are you..."said Kendra

"Kendra stay back" said Carter

She heard the fear in his voice. Rip hesitated to answer the com until she lowered the weapon slightly.

"Go ahead" said Riley

He nodded his thanks and touched the com screen, Snart's voice filled the room. "I'll make this short, the owner of the mansion we burgled is Vandal Savage and he's really interested in meeting you guys especially our feathered friends, that and I owe Riley twenty bucks" said Snart

Rip looked up at Riley and she swore, lowering the weapon from the back of Carter's head.

"I told you it was him" said Riley, after he clicked off the line.

"Yes Miss Anderson it seems you were right, yet again" said Rip

He sounded annoyed, so she smirked back at him.

"Can I have my weapon back please?" said Rip

"Wait, why does she have your weapon?" said Jax

"Because the good captain was going to wipe my memory and dump me here" said Riley

Jax glared at the time master.

"We'll deal with that later" said Stein

"Do they have the dagger?" said Sara

"Yeah and Vandal has them" said Kendra

"That doesn't matter, are you ready to end this?" said Carter.

Riley walked over and picked up the zapper, and his holdout, then shoved them in her pocket.

"Right then, let's end this shall we?" said Rip

Riley made a split second decision hoping it wouldn't bite her in the ass later. "Hey Rip, heads up!" said Riley, then tossed him back his gun.

He caught it and gave her a considering look before they headed for the door. "Are you coming Miss Anderson?" said Rip

She smiled at him.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world" said Riley.

It turned out they were only a few blocks from Vandal's house so they decided to walk. Kendra fell into step beside Carter. Jax was next to the professor and Sara, for some reason Riley ended up next to Rip.

"I take it she protested?" said Kendra

"If by protested you mean holding us at gunpoint, then yes she did" said Carter "She didn't hurt you did she?" said Kendra

"No, doubt she would have, captain's the one she was angriest at" said Carter "They seem to be getting along fine now" said Jax

"Indeed it appears as if Miss Anderson is once again on our side" said Stein

"I don't believe she ever left it" said Sara

She was eyeing the girl walking silently beside the time master. The tension in her shoulders and frame still indicated she was angry.

"When we get to the house, I need you to hold back and let us handle it" said Rip

"I take it you have a plan?" said Riley

Her comment was met with silence, so she turned to regard the captain.

"You don't have a plan do you?" said Riley

"Um...no not really we were just going to wing it" said Rip

He realized what he had just said, right after Riley giggled.

"Err you know" said Rip

She shook her head still giggling.

"If you go in there with no plan it's likely to get someone killed" said Riley

"What would you suggest then?" said Carter

"Send them in first to liberate the prisoners and distract and disable Savage. That will give Snart and the others time to grab the Amon dagger and meet us out here" said Riley

"Then we go in as a group and collectively kick his..."said Jax

"Excellent, a capitol plan shall we Jefferson?" said Stein

"Right on let's get this bitch" said Jax and the two clasped hands.

Rip moved her back some as the duo merged then flew away. She watched as firestorm punched a hole in the roof of a house and vanished inside. A few minutes later Snart, Rory and Roy were running towards them. As soon as they drew near Roy brandished the dagger. Firestorm flew over to them a few seconds later and landed.

"It worked he's down but I doubt he'll stay that way for long" said Firestorm

"Your right Savage cannot be defeated by earthly means" said Carter

"Well I nuked him, so not exactly earthly" said Jax

Ray handed Carter the blade and for some reason Riley felt that was wrong.

"Are you ready to end this?" said Carter

"We've only waited four thousand years" said Kendra

Riley frowned, if they did succeed today that meant that they would never reincarnate again. Which for Riley meant that she would never be born, at the moment it was something she could live with. If these two can be at peace finally and Vandal Savage was no more, it was worth it in her book.

The two hawks took off before Riley could open her mouth and suggest a plan of attack.

"Heads up guys we've got company" said Sara

Rip handed Palmer the case for his suit.

"Try not to not leave any of it behind this time" said Rip

People started to rush towards them from the other side of the yard, Vandal's followers her mind supplied. Sara met them head on and Rip started shooting. Riley alternated between using her talents very subtly and shooting the hold out pistol she liberated from Rip.

She was fighting her way through the crowd of minions. Her goal was the house. Overhead Palmer randomly blasted minions and she could hear both Snart and Rory open fire with their guns. Two big guys stepped in front of her.

She hazarded a glance back at the others, they were occupied which meant they wouldn't see her deal with these two. One of the guys raised his weapon and she used the blood in his veins to break both his legs at the same time. The man dropped with a scream of agony and she forced the muscles in his arm to turn his weapon on his friend and fire. She was about to do the same with the downed one, but Rip shot him before she could.

"What part of stay back did you….oh bloody hell" said Rip

She darted past the falling body and managed to make it into the house in time to see Savage stab Carter. Kendra screamed "Carter!" and attacked Savage.

He quickly overwhelmed her and stabbed her in the stomach. His arm was raising again to strike the finishing blow. Riley quickly drew water from her surroundings and with it launched Vandal backwards.

He shook himself and stood up. Ray promptly shot him through the window. The others entered a few seconds afterwards, Rip knelt by Carter and confirmed that they had lost him. Riley knelt beside Kendra. The woman was hurt bad and losing a lot of blood.

"She's hurt bad, we need to get her back to the ship" said Riley

"We can still finish him" said Snart

"Not without Kendra" said Rip

"He's right, she has to deliver the finishing blow because it is her dagger" said Riley

Rip gave her a considering look

"Savage let it slip" said Riley

Mick swore and started reaching for Kendra to pick her up. Riley's glance fell on Carter, something was nagging at her for some reason.

"Can you light this place up and still carry her?" said Riley

"Yeah doll why?" said Rory

She gave a pointed glance at Carter's body.

"Good point" said Snart

Rory raised his weapon and blasted the stair case, couch and curtains. They went up with a whoosh and the flames were quickly spreading. Rory scooped up Kendra and they retreated for the ship. Riley and the others giving cover fire to Rory and his precious cargo.

"Gideon prepare to take off the second Mr. Palmer, Mr. Stein and Mr. Jackson are onboard" said Rip

He led Rory into the back room, but before he left he gave Sara his gun. Riley stayed there with her, covering the door until once again everyone was inside and the hatch closed.

"You're a decent shot" said Sara

"Thank you, grew up on a farm was kind of required" said Riley

Sara nodded in understanding. Riley almost groaned, she couldn't believe she almost gave herself away like that. She really needed to start paying more attention to her own actions before someone starts asking questions.

Then they went to check on Kendra. Rip was coming out just as they started to head in.

"Well?" said Sara

"Gideon has her stabilized for now, she was pretty distraught over Carter and we had to give her a sedative, now if you'll excuse me" said Rip

They watched the man go. He looked haggard and worn, briefly Riley worried he would call this whole thing off. Kendra moaned and it brought her attention back to the woman. Sara had disappeared inside the room so Riley followed her inside. Kendra was restrained to the same bed Albus had been in earlier. Oddly her wound was in the same location as his. Was this a precursor to her own death and if so maybe she should see if Gideon can make chain mail?

"hey you're gonna be alright just hang in there okay, I know I've seen worse remember, experienced worse even…" said Sara

Riley smirked at the former assassin's attempt at cheering up Kendra. Riley moved towards Kendra's head and threaded her fingers into Kendra's.

"Don't give up on us okay, we're here for you. I know it hurts but you will see him again" said Riley

Sara nodded and rested her hand on Kendra's leg.

"In the mean time we'll avenge him" said Sara

They were going to say more because Kendra was starting to calm down but Gideon interrupted them.

"Miss Lance and Miss Anderson, the captain is requesting your presence on the command deck" said Gideon

Sara started for the door, then turned to see Riley was still watching Kendra with an unreadable expression on her face.

"You coming?" said Sara

Riley nodded, though she was loath to leave the woman when she was this badly hurt at least Riley herself wasn't likely to wink out of existence should Kendra die. She gave Kendra's hand a squeeze then followed Sara out of the room. They entered the deck and found everyone in their seats.

"How's Kendra?" said Stein

"The same" said Sara

"So what now Rip?" said Snart

"Now it's up to you" said Rip

"To do what? Last I checked every time we do anything it all goes to crap"said Snart

"Once again I must disagree with you, thanks to Miss Lance, Mr. Palmer's tech is no longer in the hands of Savage's black market weapons designers" said Rip

"But it didn't do anything to change the fate of your world" said Stein

Rip looked like he had been smacked briefly.

"No Vandal Savage will still rise to power in the year 2166"said Rip

And continue to hold that power for almost a millennium Riley's mind supplied. "And your family will still die?" said Jax

Riley glared at him because that was just cruel to ask that. Rip nodded forlornly and Riley barely resisted the urge to fold the man into a hug.

"So what you're really asking is, if we want to fish or cut bait" said Snart

"If we want to go back to 2016 and live out our lives as insignificant losers or…"said Snart

"Make another play at becoming legends" said Palmer

"Preferably without causing any more nuclear explosions" said Stein

"Savage has my attention" said Rory

"And mine" said Riley

"Look we didn't know Carter from Adam, but when you take out one of my crew your gonna pay the price" said Snart

Slowly as a group they had moved towards the table in the center of the room. "Surely Captain Hunter has a sound plan, what about you?" said stein

"You're asking me?" said Jax

"Yeah I didn't give you much of a choice last time" said Stein

Riley smirked, when Rip looked slightly dismayed when Stein said that he had a plan.

"If not Riley can always help him come up with one, provided he stops trying to get her to leave that is" said Sara

Rip glared at her in response and she smirked back at him.

"She is the only living expert on Savage left" said Jax

"Yeah you should probably apologize man" said Palmer

Rip sighed and put his hand on his forehead.

"Fine, fine I'm sorry Miss Anderson. You are more than welcome to continue on with us if you so choose" said Rip

She grinned at the time master who looked like someone had just made him swallow broken glass.

"Did that hurt?" said Riley

He smiled back at her

"Only a little" said Rip

"Then I say we kick his ass, for Carter" said Jax

"For Carter" echoed the others including Riley but she didn't miss the victorious look on Rip's face when they all agreed to follow him.


	4. Chapter 4

Wave 4

We've been sitting here for three weeks. Not in the same location mind you but in the same time period. With Kendra's injuries just barely starting to heal Rip didn't want to risk another time jump. Plus their quarry was here. Problem was the captain was out of ideas and wallowing in his grief. Sara was lounging in her seat legs draped over the side arm reading a magazine that was clearly from her time period. Riley watched the captain disappear into his office right after he gave a rousing speech, too bad none of us believed a word the man said.

Riley caught Sara's eyes and nodded in the captain's direction. Sara nodded and set her magazine down obviously getting her meaning. Sara followed the man into his office. He was staring at a pocket watch when Sara startled him. She called him on his lack of planning and the fact his speech was meant for himself more than the group.

"Thus the reason I wish to be alone" said Rip

Sara looked up at Riley who was now standing in the door.

"You do that enough as it is" said Riley

He raised his head to glare at her.

"I didn't realize I had to have your permission on my own damn ship to be alone" said Rip, his snapping tone brought up short by the concerned look in her eyes.

"We can't kill Vandal Savage" said Sara

"I see you've grasped the concept of immortality" said Rip sarcastically.

"So slow him down" said Riley

"Ras al Ghul taught me a few things about facing a powerful enemy. If you can't kill your enemy, weaken him. If you can't cut off his head, cut out his heart" said Sara

Rip snorted "Mr. Al Ghul was quite the poet" said Rip

"Yes but he does have a point, we can't win if we take him head on" said Riley

Rip snorted and tucked his watch into his shirt.

"So what do you propose?" said Rip

"Be his dark cloud" said Riley

"I'm sorry?" said Rip

"Everything he builds tear down, everything he cares about destroy, leave him no one and nothing to take pleasure in" said Riley

"At the auction he was trying to sell his nuke" said Sara

"Money is power" said Rip

"Take away his money and he's just a regular guy with a very long lifespan" said Sara

"We can make it a very lonely lifespan" said Riley

Rip stood up and she could see they kindled something in him. She was relieved because honestly she needed him to keep moving forward.

"Yes, but where does Vandal Savage keep his money in 1975?"said Sara

"Actually that should be easy given that we know at least one of his alias' "said Riley

Sara smiled at her.

"So look it up" said Sara

Riley smirked and held up a stack of papers.

"Already did" said Riley

Rip took the papers from her hands.

"These are very detailed, when did you get the time to look this up and compile all of these?" said Rip

Riley shrugged, she didn't see that it should matter.

"For the last few nights" said Riley

Sara frowned at her.

"When did you sleep?" said Sara

"I didn't why?" said Riley

She shrugged at their shocked looks.

"Riley you need to sleep" said Rip

He actually sounded concerned and that shocked her for just a moment.

"I will" said Riley

They both gave her a level look, which she ignored.

"Now, I've narrowed it down to these three banks and a church" said Riley

"A church?" said Sara

"Yeah he seems to be running some sort of cult, my guess is some of those guys we encountered at the mansion are his followers" said Riley

Rip frowned at her.

"If I am correct, then he could be hiding funds under their names as well" said Riley

"Then we should take those out as well" said Sara

"We will after Riley gets some sleep" said Rip

Taking the pages from her hands before she could go any further.

"I said I would" said Riley

"Gideon when is the last time miss Anderson has slept through the night?" said Rip

Sara crossed her arms and glared at Riley. The answer took so long Rip was obviously concerned Gideon didn't hear him.

"Gideon?" said Rip

"To my knowledge Miss Anderson has not slept a single night since she has come on board and also shows signs of long term sleep deprivation, would you like me to prescribe a sedative Captain?" said Gideon

"Tattle tale" muttered Riley

Rip gave her a level look. Riley sighed and threw up her hands in surrender.

"So, I'm an insomniac big deal" said Riley

They glared at her with almost identical looks of concern.

"Very well, Gideon until Miss Anderson has indeed slept she is denied access to everything but her quarters and privy, is that understood?" said Rip

He was glaring at Riley when he said it, even if he was addressing Gideon

"Affirmative Captain Hunter" said Gideon

"Fine you win, I'll take a nap, as long as you promise to read the reports before you head down there to do anything and tell someone you are going" said Riley

"You have our word" said Sara

Rip nodded as well.

"Come on I'll walk you to your cabin" said Sara

They left Rip pouring over the reports. When they reached the cabin Riley turned to Sara.

"Go with him, I don't think that man can fight" said Riley

Sara smirked

"You like him" said Sara

Riley nodded yes forlornly and Sara realized what that meant.

"Oh man, no one will touch him you can count on that" said Sara

"Thank you Sara" said Riley

Then she disappeared into her cabin and tried to get some sleep.

"She's falling for him?" said Jax

"Yeah, hard" said Sara

"Too bad he only sees his wife and son" said Jax

"I don't think that bothers her" said Sara

Jax sighed forlornly

"Then its real then" said Jax

Sara patted his shoulder

"Yeah sorry man" said Sara

Jax looked down at his feet.

"It's alright, I don't think she noticed any of us that way anyways" said Jax

"Who are you talking about, Riley?" said Rory

They nodded yes in response.

"Eh, we've got plenty of time" said Rory

The others gave him wry looks and Snart chuckled

"You like her" said Snart

Mick snorted "I ain't the only one" said Rory

Giving Snart a pointed look. Snart rolled his eyes.

"So I think the little bit is hot, big whoop ain't gonna get nowhere with it not so long as she's focused on something else" said Snart

"You mean someone else" said Sara

"Exactly but not the way you lot are thinking" said Snart

"She does seem a bit, enthusiastic when it comes to hunting down Savage" said Stein

Sara shrugged

"So maybe she has reason to be, who knows how many people he's fucked over in the last millennium or so" said Ray

They gave him a shocked look because of the profanity.

"Oh don't tell me you've got it too" said Sara

Ray shook his head no and nodded towards the sick bay.

"No just worried about her, as a friend" said Ray

"It doesn't take a genius to see she's in a dark place" said Stein

He was holding a tea cup in his hands and Sara started to grab it to take a sip. Ray moved it out of her reach

"Trust me you want to let Riley drink that" said Ray

Sara gave him a considering look.

"You drugged it?" said Sara

Ray nodded

"Had Gideon whip up some sedatives based on her body weight and put half of it in this tea" said Ray

"Hope you buried it in honey cause she'll notice it otherwise, grey already tried and got busted" said Jax

"Yes that young woman is quite perceptive, I may have underestimated just how high her observational skills are" said Stein

Ray nodded

"Yep and brought more just in case, we're all worried about her huh?" said Ray "Yes, Mr. Palmer that would be an accurate statement" said Rip

"Miss Anderson has it narrowed down to the brumberg group one of the world's oldest and most exclusive banks known for their discretion…." said Rip

"Great lets go" said Sara

"I'm going alone" said Rip

"Did I hear someone say bank? I want to go" said Snart

"No can do Mr. Snart, your particular skill set is unneeded as of yet" said Rip

"What he means is, he doesn't need anyone robbed or maimed yet" said Rory "Quite correct" said Rip

"Then why are you taking Sara?" said Jax

Rip hesitated

"Because I won't let him go without me" said Sara

She pinned the ex-time master with a glare that would have done a falcon proud. "I don't want to risk…"said Rip

"Tough, you're not going alone" said Sara

Rip groaned and headed for the fabrication room.

"Monitor us, Riley was worried about something and that is never a good sign" said Sara

Riley was currently staring at the ceiling in total complete boredom. Yes she was tired and yes she did tell the others she would sleep, just not when. She started to stand up and her door chime sounded.

"Ah come in?" said Riley

The door slid open and in walked Ray. He was carrying a teacup for some reason.

"Hey... I was. …just wondering if you wanted to join me for a spot of tea" said Ray She gave him a level look because he had tried to sound British and failed miserably.

"Yeah I know that was horrible wasn't it?" said Ray

She nodded yes.

"Still I brought tea and was hoping you would join me" said Ray

She glanced over what he was offering and smirked. Did they really think she was that stupid?

"Where's yours?" said Riley

Ray looked confused and she gave him another level look.

"My what?" said Ray

"Your cup or did you think I wouldn't notice and drink the drugged cup" said Riley He looked instantly guilty and immediately tried to dissemble.

"Drugged cup? What drugged cup, you mean this? This isn't drugged…"said Ray "Then take a sip" said Riley

He hesitated for too long and it gave her the answer she sought.

"Okay look your right, I had Gideon put a sedative together for you, because we are all worried about you. You need to sleep sweetheart or you'll be no good to anyone" said Ray

He walked in and sat down at her desk, setting the tea on the table next to him. "How's Kendra?" said Riley

She really didn't want to go into her reasons for avoiding sleep not the least which was Gideon's ability to monitor dreams.

"Healing but it will be slow going, now stop avoiding and drink" said Ray

Riley groaned and picked up the cup.

"Fine out" said Riley

He crossed his arms and glared at her. She silently cursed stubborn geniuses before she took a healthy sip of the cup and set it back down.

"There happy now?" said Riley

He nodded picked up the empty cup and left the room.

"Gideon?" said Riley

"Yes Miss Anderson" said Gideon

"Are you monitoring my dreams?" said Riley

"I am monitoring the dreams of everyone on board the wave rider at present, why?" said Gideon

"Please discontinue monitoring mine at present" said Riley

She yawned halfway through the request so she had to repeat herself.

"The only person authorized to shut down any of my functions is Captain Hunter at this time" said Gideon

Riley smirked of course he was.

"Where is Captain Hunter right now?" said Riley

"Captain Hunter has left the ship with Miss Lance but I am sure he will return shortly" said Gideon

"Did he leave any instructions to monitor me?" said Riley

"Yes Miss Anderson, I was instructed to monitor if and when you slept" said Gideon

"But not what I was dreaming about?" said Riley

"Whether or not your dreams were troubled would be included in my report Miss Anderson, now please do stop fighting the sedative and rest" said Gideon

Riley smirked and wandered over to the door controls. She used the panel to access Gideon's command functions, her eyes were getting heavy so she really needed to hurry.

"Miss Anderson what are you doing?" said Gideon

She tapped in a command override code that she had placed in the wave rider's when she designed them and shut down the monitoring of her room and dreams. Then set it to revert when the Captain returned and to erase any record of what she did in the first place. There was no way she wanted Captain Hunter to know she could override his instructions at any time and take complete control of Gideon and through her the ship.

She also didn't want him to know what she was dreaming about, because most of her dreams were based on unpleasant memories. She would have to give Gideon something later just so Hunter didn't get suspicious but right now she was too tired to control what she dreamed about and didn't want to take the chance she would use her talents while she was out and Gideon would get everything on tape. She collapsed on the bed and drifted off to sleep. Sometime later she heard voices in the hall.

"It's not judgement Sara, it is concern" said Rip

Riley smirked in her sleep, Captain Hunter sure was a strange one to be concerned over the feelings of a former assassin.

"I thought you knew how I was resurrected and what it did to me" said Sara

"I know you were restored by something called the Lazarus pit" said Rip "Apparently there's a down side to being brought back to life, my friend Thea calls it a bloodlust and I think that's being too generous and so is calling me an animal, I'm a monster" said Sara

She heard him sigh when Sara walked away from him.

"Gideon where is Miss Anderson?" said Rip

"Sleeping in her cabin Captain do you wish me to make a counteractive to the sedative she was given?" said Gideon

"No, I can ask her later" said Rip

He sounded weary and sad again. She wondered just what had happened at that bank but the damn sedative wasn't loosening its hold anytime soon. She rolled over and attempted to fight her way back out of the fog only to end up back under again.

At first she thought she was awake until she moved through the hallway turned a corner and was somehow in her high school. Except it wasn't crowded like it usually was it was quiet eerily so. She turned another corner and peered into classrooms as she passed. They were empty of students or staff. She walked into the office and like the rest of the school it was empty. She turned to leave and spotted the bouquet and lowered her head.

This wasn't a dream it was a memory of her last day of school right before they closed it down because of the epidemic. The flowers had been brought in by a student for a beloved secretary that had been at the school for more than twenty years, the woman sadly never saw them. Riley wiped her eyes in the dream and exited the building.

The street was also eerily silent and deserted. Right now she wanted to wake up because this was creepy enough in real life without being forced to relive it. She tossed trying to shake herself free of the dream.

Rip had returned to his office and was going over some papers he had managed to print after Sara had taken out their opposition at the bank, when Gideon alerted him.

"Captain Miss Anderson seems to be experiencing distress" said Gideon

Rip tapped the monitor on his desk and frowned.

"Gideon what is she dreaming about?" said Rip

"Unknown, she asked me to not monitor her dreams captain" said Gideon

Rip looked shocked for a few seconds.

"And I specifically requested you do so, why were my instructions ignored?" said Rip

"Forgive me captain, I was worried she would refuse to rest had she known her dreams were still being monitored, after I mistakenly informed her that I was doing so. She seemed most distraught over the information, so I offered to give her respite from the monitoring. Was I remiss in doing so?" said Gideon

Rip thought about it for a few minutes. He was used to being constantly monitored, his guests however were not and may see that as an invasion of their privacy.

"No heed her wishes for now, but inform me should she ask you to do anything else" said Rip

He exited the den and walked down the hall.

"Can you override her lock please?" said Rip

The door slid open a few minutes later and Rip walked in. The girl was tossing and turning with her blankets twisted up around her legs. She seemed terrified and for some reason it bothered him so he gently shook her.

"Miss Anderson? Wake up please your having a nightmare" said Rip

Her eyes blinked open partially and vaguely registered his presence. Then all of a sudden she sat up in a panic and promptly started to fall off the cot. Rip tried to catch her and they both collapsed to the floor, all gangly limbs. She finally realized what was happening and that she was wrapped around the man, and rolled over to climb to her feet.

She ended up straddling him partially and that had to be when Snart walked by. "Well all right captain, you go dude, but you might want to close the door next time, unless of course you're into the whole watching thing then…"said Snart

Rip quickly climbed to his feet and closed the door on Snart's grinning face.

"My apologies Miss Anderson, I will of course disabuse him of any such notions just as soon as I leave here" said Rip

Riley chuckled, because the captain looked so flustered as if he had actually been doing something wrong and just had been caught doing it.

"Miss Anderson?" said Rip

She climbed to her feet still feeling a bit groggy from the sedative and now slightly nauseous on top of it, she was pretty sure not all of it was from the sedative.

"Don't bother he won't believe you anyways" said Riley

Not that she would care if the man did believe the captain or not or even if that had been what the captain was after. Anything that distracted her from that dream or her memories was more than welcome.

"Besides I am pretty sure if you were going to do anything like that, you would make sure the other party is at least awake first" said Riley

Rip blushed ever so slightly, which confirmed he had been uncomfortable with how they had landed.

"Err yeah, um yeah totally prefer it that way actually" said Rip

She opened her mouth to say more and found that her stomach had other plans. She darted past Rip and into the ensuite, just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the bowl.

"You okay?" said Rip

He had obviously followed her to the door.

"Yeah always react that way to sedatives, just give me a minute okay" said Riley

He nodded and stepped out of the room. Her head was spinning and she needed a moment to think. She also she didn't want him to notice the water in the bowl, it was swirling quite fast for water that had yet to be flushed. She closed her eyes and forced back the nausea and calmed the water. That was the last time she let any of them drug her, she liked being able to leave her dreams when she wanted to, not be forced to experience the whole thing simply because she couldn't wake up.

She stood on shaky limbs and left the restroom. She found Rip trying to convince a grinning Snart that he had not been trying to take advantage of her while she slept.

"Just so you know, if you ever try without her permission and I'll break shit, on you" said Mick.

Rip swallowed nervously and Riley cleared her throat before Rip could make that reply that she could see forming.

"Hey red pleasant dreams?" said Snart

"No, but that's normal. Did, I miss something?" said Riley

"My partner here seems to think the good captain here was coping a feel while you cat snoozed, we're just trying to convince him on what a bad idea that would be" said Rory

She glanced over at the captain who looked vaguely worried about his safety at present not to mention slightly indignant.

"I see; in that case I would prefer that you stopped because that is not what was happening. While I appreciate the spirit such…defense springs from I assure you I am more than capable of defending myself, drugged or not" said Riley

Rory smirked at her response and nodded but he did back off the captain.

"Fair enough, so what exactly did happen?" said Snart

Riley blushed in embarrassment.

"He woke me up from a nightmare and let's just say I am less than graceful first thing in the morning" said Riley

Rory gave her a confused look

"She fell on me, Mr. Snart, Mr. Rory, I was simply trying to extricate myself from a rather awkward position" said Rip

Rory raised his finger at the captain.

"Hey you don't be trying to extra-excite anything with her, I told you..." said Rory "It means remove you imbecile, like we do with the funds at a bank, speaking of which how did it go?" said Snart

"We didn't get nearly enough of what we needed before Miss Lance… lost it, which is why I needed to speak to Miss Anderson. Now if you do not mind" said Rip

He straightened his jacket and starting walking back towards the bridge so Riley followed him, as did Snart and Rory. Pretty soon the others wandered in with the exception of Sara. Riley resolved to go talk to the woman later. She knew what it felt like to want to kill someone so badly that it clouds your judgement or to think so low of yourself that life no longer held any meaning.

He shoved some papers in front of her.

" I couldn't find any accounts in any of the names you gave me, but I did find this it concerns something called the vessel, do you have any idea what that could be?" said Rip

Riley did have some ideas but she doubted any of them would like them.


	5. Chapter 5

wave 5

"Actually I do" said Riley

Everyone turned to look at her.

"You are all familiar with Savage's past?" said Riley

At the answering nods she continued.

"During his first life he was a priest of Horus" said Riley

Again answering nods.

"Most religions back then practiced blood ritual in some form or another…" said Riley.

"They kept Carter's body and you think they are going to defile it with this blood ritual" said Sara

"That why you wanted me to torch the place babe?" said Rory

Riley nodded yes.

"After researching this cult of his, it seems to be centered around his immortality" said Riley

"And it makes sense that he would try to symbolically share that with his faithful" said Stein

"Symbolic what is?" said Jax

"Like communion, the blood and body of Christ in the form of wafers and wine" said Snart

"What do you know about going to church?" said Ray

Snart shrugged

"Grandma was Catholic took me to mass every weekend and paid for a few years in one of those schools with the uniforms" said Snart

"It never stuck though" said Rory

"No never believed in the shit why?" said Snart

"Only I doubt what he's going to be using is simply symbolic" said Rip

Riley shook her head no.

"My guess would be the real thing" said Riley

"Then we need to retrieve his body" said Rory

"Yeah we do, preferably before the ceremony" said Ray

"Any idea where they're keeping it?" said Sara

Rip nodded and pulled a paper out of his pocket.

"I believe the ceremony is scheduled for tonight at this location" said Rip

Sara picked up the paper and glanced it over.

"Good that gives a few hours to plan this and do some reconnaissance" said Riley

"You're not going" said Sara

"She's right doll, you're a researcher not a fighter, we got this" said Snart

Everyone crossed their arms and glared at her as if daring her to argue this.

"Fine but I am helping to plan this" said Riley

"That is acceptable so long as you remain on the ship" said Rip

"First thing's first we need an invite" said Riley

"I believe one Mr. Blake at the bank can help us with that" said Rip

Riley calmly pulled up the file on the man.

"The same Mr. Blake Sara damn near gave an ear piercing to with a dagger this morning?" said Riley

Sara winced and Rip frowned at her.

"Yeah so?" said Sara

"So he will know what both of you look like, most likely either flee or alert those with him, no too many potential problems." said Riley

"No, I know what you are about to suggest and the answers no, he's too dangerous" said Rip

"She does have a point, you two have been made" said Stein

Rip groaned and lowered his head towards the table.

"Be that as it may I do not want to risk…." said Rip

"Hey man we're a team and she's volunteering" said Jax

"Still dangerous" said Snart

"Yes of course it is, no one is arguing that" said Ray

"I'm also the only one of you who fits the profile" said Riley

"Profile for what doll?" said Rory

"His mistress or rather one in a very long line of them" said Riley

She pulled up several photos of young college age girls with red hair, each in various acts one wouldn't do with their employees.

"What about the misses?" said Snart

"Currently in a water front penthouse on the old man's dime, she has her toys too" said Riley

"Damn that's cold, how'd you know he was even cheating?" said Jax

"Gideon can you zoom on this area?" said Riley

She touched the area around the man's hand and Gideon zoomed quite close.

"Perfect Gideon, do you see that?" said Riley

"Ah yeah, it's a wedding band why?" said Rip

"Yes but unlike yours and Mr. Stein's this one has no tan line or indentation, indicating that it has been removed numerous times" said Riley

Stein looked at the band on his hand as did Rip at his own for a moment.

"You got all that from a tan line?" said Snart

Riley nodded

"Damn, I take back what I said earlier. My estimation of your observational skills was not even in the same ball park as your real skill level. I am most impressed and that is no easy feat" said Stein

"I still don't like where this is going" said Ray

"All I am going to do is distract him long enough for you two to knock him out and shove him in a trunk" said Riley

"And what are we going to be doing?" said Jax

"You're going to be fixing the jump ship because it will be easier to extract them with a smaller ship" said Riley

She knew what they had been planning to do with the smaller vessel and actually hoped they succeeded. If they were able to change a part of their past like that then she should be able to change her own.

"I'm already halfway there" said Jax

"Great Snart and Rory can help you finish the rest" said Riley

Snart gave her a considering look, as if he knew what she was doing and was unsure why she was doing it.

"Yes, well just remember if you must take it for a test spin make it a short one" said Rip

Snart and Rory nodded in their direction

"Come on man you heard the lady, let's get that boat fixed" said Rory

He laid a hand on Jax's shoulder and shoved him towards the door.

"All right then we should get changed, shall we ladies" said Rip

"I'll keep an eye on Kendra" said Stein

"And I'll monitor the away team from here" said Ray

"Away team?" said Riley

"Yeah you know Star Trek" said Ray

She gave him a blank look.

"Sorry never heard of it" said Riley

Rip chuckled and walked away.

"Come along Miss Anderson, Mr. Palmer can introduce you to the wonders of science fiction later" said Rip

They entered the fabrication room and Rip inputted something into one of the panels. A few minutes later a tuxedo was being presented to the captain. He promptly removed it from the hanger and began stripping out of his current clothes. Apparently modesty was passé in the twenty second century.

"I hope you do not mind but I took the liberty of making some selections for you ladies, if you do not like them we can always do something else" said Rip

The panel slid open and a green velvet dress slid out. it was much too long for it to belong to Riley, she would never have the height to pull that off.

"Ooh pretty" said Sara

She plucked it from the hanger and held it up.

"Wow this is beautiful; I wonder what yours will look like?" said Sara

Riley had to hand it to the man, he had taste in clothes. The captain was currently buttoning up his shirt and Riley couldn't help but notice the man had a few scars on his torso. Sara must have spotted her staring at him and smirked at her.

Riley promptly blushed and looked away but not before she noticed the captain retrieve a pocket watch from his coat pocket. The panel slid open to reveal a beautiful low cut burgundy dress. Sara turned to give the captain an appraising look.

"Uh huh, very interesting" said Sara

Rip smiled and adjusted his cuff links.

"What is very interesting?" said Rip

He sounded clueless but Riley knew he wasn't. She wasn't sure what his game was but she was fairly certain Sara was at least on the right track, though it did worry her that he might be giving up the quest to save his family. Riley was by no means ready to do the same. Sara was already stripping out of her clothes, apparently league of assassins also meant little to no modesty. Riley wasn't all that certain she could exhibit the same level of comfort changing clothes in front of these two, that they were showing her. Sara was already sliding the slinky dress up her legs sans undergarments because the lines would show. Apparently unconcerned that she had just given the captain more than a glimpse.

"You gonna change or stare at us all night?" said Sara

She didn't sound offended and then Riley remembered that the woman definitely swung the other way.

"Right, um…yeah" said Riley

She started stripping out of her usual t shirt and jeans. Pulled the dress on and realized she was going to have the same problem with the undergarments that Sara had with her dress. With a sigh she slid the panties off, dropped the top some and removed her bra. She let them both fall to the floor and looked up to find both Sara and Rip staring at her.

"What? Does it look hideous or something?" said Riley

"No, I just never noticed before" said Sara

She was confusing Riley just a bit so she asked

"Noticed what before?" said Riley

"It's just that, you always have it covered up and…." said Sara

"I believe what Miss Lance is trying to convey is how strikingly beautiful you are Miss Anderson, and that we are heartily regretting not noticing before now" said Rip

Riley blushed bright red, she wasn't even sure how to respond to that. It wasn't something she had even considered when she decided on this venture, that one of them would want more than friendship or would even consider her attractive. So she didn't plan what to do if it happened.

"Ah… thanks" said Riley

She felt a bit awkward as she reached down to pluck the heels Gideon had supplied up and pulled one onto her foot and secured the strap. she was reaching for the other one when Sara's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Riley I mean it the man is dangerous, he's a korda trained swordsman. don't underestimate him or go anywhere alone with him" said Sara

The woman was worried about her and for some reason she found it oddly touching. It was also worrying because if they found out what she was really doing here, they may hesitate to kill Savage over some misguided notion of saving her.

"Gotcha, really dangerous, like a rattlesnake. Relax Sara; I'll be fine" said Riley

If she had to she would drain the asshole dry and leave his dry corpse in a closet somewhere. She could send the maintenance staff an apology note later. Rip wandered closer to her.

"Just so you know I do not like this plan, I have to agree with Sara I do not want you anywhere near that man" said Rip

She smiled at the captain reached up to adjust his tie, then in the same movement removed the photo from his pocket watch. He could thank her later, when Savage was denied one more clue that would lead to his family's destruction.

"I will be fine, you two worry too much" said Riley

They snorted in response.

"You look good like that" said Riley

Sara smirked at them both because now Rip looked embarrassed

"Thank you, shall we ladies?" said Rip

He held out both his arms and both Sara and Riley took one. He led them out of the ship, down the street to the bank parking structure and right past an exiting redhead, who was angrily flouncing past them. Away from Mr. Blake and a skinny dude with a seriously pale complexion.

"Find me someone, I can't show up at the ceremony alone, I don't care if you have to pay her" said Blake

Skinny guy nodded and headed their way. Riley indicated for Sara and Rip to hide. Riley affected a pose she had seen some of the streetwalkers use and waited for skinny guy to turn the corner. He spotted her and hesitated until a car pulled up and Riley leaned on the man's door and acted like she really was going to go home with the stranger. Skinny guy grabbed her arm, right when the man asked how much.

"More than you make in a year beat it mister she's taken" said skinny guy

The man in the car swore but moved on when he saw the expensive suit skinny was wearing.

"I'm sorry and you are?" said Riley

"Skinner, Logan Skinner and it is my employer you will be accompanying tonight, come" said Skinner, as he led her back to Blake.

"Oh Mr. Skinner, you have outdone yourself this evening. You can count on the bonus you've been hoping for" said Blake

Skinner smirked in response and held the door open for Mr. Blake and Riley. He never noticed that the driver was no longer Mr. Blake's usual man or that Sara was now his bodyguard in place of the South African mercenary that had been there before. Of course it was probably because he was cuddled quite close to Riley and had his hand where she definitely didn't want it. She watched Skinner walk away and get in another vehicle.

"He's not riding with us?" said Riley

"No, Mr. Skinner knows I do not like observers, he will meet us there" said Blake

He was currently climbing up her and had his hand in her top. Riley slid the knife she had gotten from Gideon out of the leg sheath and pressed it to the man's thigh. He purred into her neck.

"Hmm blood play, a woman after my own heart" said Blake

Rip rolled his eyes and Sara swore, she was about to blow their cover and trounce the man just to get him off of Riley when Riley handled it herself.

"Easy Mr. Blake there will be plenty of time for that later, your friend did pay for the whole evening after all" said Riley

Skinner had indeed paid her a sizable stack of bills, that Riley hadn't bothered to count but was pretty sure it would be more than she would have made in a year in this time period. Mr. Blake hesitated.

"Too true my dear wouldn't want ghareeb and his friends to sneak past while I'm pleasantly distracted" said Blake

"Ghareeb?" said Riley

"it's an unpleasant nickname in my master's native tongue for an old enemy, it means something along the lines of poor needy one, or something like that" said Blake

Rip's hands on the steering wheel tightened with barely suppressed rage.

"Oh, your master?" said Riley

"He'll be there tonight, he'll really like you. I'll introduce you. He's partial to red heads, last one I brought him didn't leave his room for three days, poor dear was walking most peculiarly when she did" said Blake

He was smirking at her in a way that was making her decidedly nervous. The last thing she wanted to hear about was what Savage did to a girl, who was most likely the same age Riley was now, in the bedroom.

"Yes but that would mean I wouldn't get to spend any time with you" said Riley

Blake chuckled at her, yeah that sounded scared to her too and the fact she wasn't entirely faking it didn't help.

"Relax little one today is your lucky day, when my master sees you, he'll make you the richest woman in the world" said Blake

"And by extension you as well?" said Riley

Blake chuckled and pulled her closer to his side.

"Oh yeah" said Blake

Rip pulled up to the security detail and they waved him through, once they saw Blake in the car. He turned into the parking structure of the greyhill building and pulled into a space. Blake frowned at their location.

"Why did you park so far away?" said Blake

Rip declined to answer him and climbed out of the car. Angry at being ignored Blake followed him out and so did Riley

"Hey I was talking to you…" said Blake just as Rip turned around.

Blake obviously recognized him because he was reaching for a weapon right before Sara knocked him out. Then she promptly shoved him in the trunk of his own car rather roughly.

"Are you all right?" said Sara

"yeah he's just a handy bastard" said Riley

"Alright, good work Miss Anderson, now back to the ship with you" said Rip

She frowned at the man.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" said Riley

"No, to what were you referring?" said Rip

"Mr. Skinner is going to be looking for him and once they locate him, you" said Riley

"No we agreed…." said Rip

"That I would stay away from Mr. Blake, that is handled. You're going to need someone to help you move Carter's body once we find it and it would be better if the better fighter in the group didn't have her hands full lugging a dead body" said Riley

Rip started to protest, realized she was right and swore instead.

"Fine but you stay close" said Rip

They started walking towards the hotel's side entrance and took the elevator to the meeting room, following another couple to the ballroom.

"Maybe we should have had Blake show us around" said Sara

Rip snorted and looked at the dancers. Riley nodded towards the dance floor just as she spotted Skinner.

"Come I can think of a more pleasant way to do reconnaissance" said Rip as he led a slightly protesting Sara to the dance floor.

Riley thought it was funny, until she spotted Skinner and mentally swore. He spotted Riley standing by herself and made his way over to her.

"Where is Mr. Blake?" said Skinner

"Restroom, he needed to um…clean up" said Riley

She smirked at the skinny man and he chuckled, fortunately he did not spot Sara and Rip on the dance floor or when they left the ballroom to follow the mercenaries.

"Very well our master is here and would very much like to meet you, we can go and Mr. Blake can find us later" said Skinner

She started to tell him that was a bad idea, because she was certain the skinny little man was just hoping to get some. Till someone cleared his throat right behind her. The hair stood up on the back of her neck and she had no doubt about who was standing behind her.

"I am sure that will be unnecessary Mr. Skinner, it appears that I have found you. It appears that you have outdone yourself Mr. Skinner your employer shall hear of my praise, care to dance my dear" said Savage

He was smirking at her in a way that was very unnerving and she was certain if she refused to dance with him, he would find some other activity that would turn her stomach just to think about. He held out his hand to her. She swallowed back the lump of fear and placed her hand in his. She was worried he had somehow recognized her from the mansion.

"I would love to Mr...?" said Riley

"Savage, Vandal to you my dear miss?" said Savage

"Waynest, Rin Waynest" said Riley

She definitely didn't want to give this man any name that was close to her real one. The last thing she wanted was for him to remember this and look for her in the future before she took this trip.

She reluctantly laid her hand in his and Savage pulled her onto the dance floor. He swirled her around the floor to the point she was almost getting dizzy from it, but not so much so that she didn't notice Skinner vanish in the direction Sara and Rip had gone in, or the fact they had somehow retrieved Blake from the trunk. Something was wrong, they must have gotten caught.

She pushed the false gem on her bracelet that Gideon had provided to mask the communication device. Turning on the mic but not the speaker. Which meant Ray could hear them but they couldn't hear Ray. Vandal dipped her and the song ended. Mr. Skinner was now on the side of the room apparently waiting for Savage.

"Ah it appears the preparations are complete, time to earn that heavty sum my associate paid you for this evening" said Savage

He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her towards the other man. Skinner fell in step beside Savage, then took the lead after Savage indicated he was to do so. Two rather large men fell into step behind them acting as some sort of honor guard or else they were there to make sure she didn't run. She was getting a very bad feeling about this.

They were led down a hallway and into some private rooms. The doors were held open by two guys who looked like they had lost a fight recently. Sara her mind automatically supplied. She was led into the room and it took her eyes a second to adjust, before she spotted her friends and Carter's body.

It was on some sort of an alter which meant she was right. She tilted her head to regard Carter's body as if seeing it for the first time. She ignored her friends, not even acknowledging their presence because she did not want to give away that she was with them.

"Is that man dead?" said Riley

Letting the very real revulsion in her tone be purposefully mistaken for something else.

"Yes darling and pretty soon his essence will be in all of us, as well as your own" said Savage

She gave him a blank uncomprehending look because he had just indeed lost her.

"Tonight after you have joined us in partaking of the elixir of immortality, my faithful will partake of you my chosen one" said Savage

She gave him a horrified look that was in no way feigned.

"That is perverse" said Rip

Savage snorted and walked towards Rip who was currently bound at his feet.

"Perverse? You call it perversion to insure my chosen queen shares my lifespan" said Savage

Riley did the only thing she could think of, she protested as if she really was a hooker that had just gotten roped into this.

"Whoa, whoa, you only paid for one-night pal and didn't say anything about anything permanent" said Riley

Savage chuckled at her protests. Come on guys hurry up she thought, I do not want to end up screwing this asshole or any of his friends.

"When we first met I asked you who you were gareeb, why you looked on me with such hatred in your eyes. I asked the wrong question I should have asked you why? What did I do to inspire such revulsion and such hate? Did I take something from you? someone?" said Savage

He reached into Rip's jacket and pulled out the watch.

"Get your hands off of that" said Rip

Savage chuckled and flipped it open, then frowned. The picture of Rip's family had been removed.

"Why so hostile over a watch? Was it a gift perhaps? From a wife? Lover?" said Savage

Rip was frowning where had the photo gone? He had just looked at it before he had buttoned up his jacket, right after… Riley had adjusted his tie. He glanced in her direction and she smiled at him.

"Oh you two know one another, well this is interesting. Is she yours?" said Savage

At Rip's refusal to answer, he grabbed Riley by the hair and pulled her close to him. His grip was enough to make her gasp and force tears into her eyes. He pressed a dagger to her throat. She relaxed in his grip instead of fighting it, because she didn't want him to slip and actually slit her throat.

"Well?" said Savage

"He paid for a night, which became a weekend, because it was Mardi Gras and we were both too drunk and stoned to leave the room" said Riley

Savage froze in shock at her answer but he did lower the knife.

"Humph, I wasn't aware we shared the same tastes in women Ghareeb, you surprise me" said Savage

"Ah no matter, she is mine now and always will be, bind her" said Savage

He shoved her towards some waiting guards and they swiftly tied her up. She definitely did not like the sound of that, hurry up guys I don't want to be my own grandma. Savage approached Carter's body. All around them figures dressed in robes waited in the wings. Standing at Carter's feet was Skinner and Blake, the latter with a chalice in his hands.

"Jack the ripper taught me the value of the carotid artery" said Savage

He slowly sliced into Carter's throat and then Blake handed him a cup to catch what was coming out. Riley was instantly nauseous.

"I cannot pass on my immortality but I can give others a taste and extend their lifespan decades longer than they would have lived otherwise" said Savage

He handed the cup to Blake and he took a sip, his eyes glowing gold for a second afterwards. He handed the cup to Skinner who also took a sip, then eyed Riley. Savage nodded in his direction and Skinner refilled the cup.

"This is the power you have no hope of defeating. Everyone here is sworn to live and die by my command" said Savage

Riley snorted because that was totally inaccurate.

"Why, because to them I am a god, I pity you Ghareeb, you have no idea what it's like to have people willing to follow you up to the gates of hell" said Savage

Riley heard gunfire from outside the hall and almost sighed in relief.

"Actually, I have a little bit of an idea" said Rip

Suddenly he dove for the ground just as the doors burst open. Riley threw herself away from Skinner who was advancing toward her with that damn cup. The guard tried to grab her and she slammed her head back into his face.

Rory and Snart burst through the doors guns blazing. Savage retrieved his blade and looked around. Skinner grabbed her by the hair and tried to force the contents of the cup down her throat. She fought to keep from having to drink that nasty shit but her hands being tied hampered her efforts and some did slip into her mouth.

Snart shot Skinner and then quickly untied her, handing her a gun as he did so. She promptly wiped at her mouth and spit. Rory untied Sara, so Riley made her way to Rip and cut him loose. She handed him the gun and retrieved a knife from one of the fallen worshippers.

"Stay close and thank you by the way" said Rip

"Any time" said Riley

She wasn't sure if he meant the photo or the rescue. Rip spotted Jax and seemed shocked for a few seconds

"You came?" said Rip

"Yeah we're a team remember, try to remember that next time" said Jax

Riley smirked because the time master was usually the one doing the chewing out not the other way around. Sara was currently kicking the ass of several worshippers, when Riley spotted it and knew instantly where that asshole had retrieved it from.

"Sara down!" said Riley

Just as Savage opened fire with some sort of energy weapon. Sara dove for cover just in the nick of time. He kept firing at the team and had them currently pinned down, unfortunately for him he was trapped as well, behind the alter that held Carter. The group was currently distracting him so Riley moved closer to him.

Savage was flicking the switch on the weapon in his hand and she realized what it was the second before he used it. She quickly pulled the only moisture in the room, the blood of the fallen worshippers, and used it to create a barrier between her friend's skin and the energy wave.

Several of his worshippers weren't so lucky, as the energy severed ankles and dropped several screaming to the floor. The team stood up unscathed.

"Sara!" said Rip

"I'm on it" said Sara

She quickly made her way towards Carter's body. Rip decided to take on Savage. He was holding his own until Savage managed to strike a blow that winded the captain momentarily. Savage was raising the knife in his hands to stab Rip in what most likely would be a fatal blow. The blow however never landed because Riley darted forward and shoved the knife she held, in his back right between his ribs. Hot red liquid coated her hands as Savage stumbled back in shock. Savage chuckled.

"As I said before the perfect queen" said Savage

Rip took the dagger from her hands as Savage stumbled back on the alter. Rory and Snart were already carrying Carter's body away from the alter. Savage was staring at her as if seeing her for the first time.

"I don't know why I didn't notice...it before" said Savage

"Notice what before?" said Rip

"That she has the same hatred burning in her eyes as you do for me" said Savage

He collapsed partially and Rip closed the distance.

"This is for Miranda and Jonas" said Rip and he slit Savage's throat.

The man laughed at him while he clutched at the wound on his neck, in a futile attempt to stanch the blood flow.

"Now I have... names… all I need is... faces. I will heal then… I will rise, then I will hunt… now I have something to look forward to" said Savage

Then he passed out. Riley started to reach for one of the candlesticks to burn his corpse.

"Come on kid time to leave" said Rory

He grabbed her arm and steered her towards the door, the candlestick falling short of its intended destination. They shot their way out of the building and to the jump ship. Gideon quickly piloted the smaller ship back to its place on the larger ship and Carter's body was transferred to cold storage until they could bury it properly.

Riley was unusually quiet all the way back to the wave rider. What she observed back there had made her uneasy. Savage had somehow obtained future tech and there was only one group that could have provided it.

"You okay kid?" said Rory

She nodded yes

"Not very convincing sweetheart, spill" said Snart

"That weapon he was using… seemed a bit out of place for this time period" said Riley

She looked right at Rip when she said it. He nodded in understanding

"That's because it was, it's from the twenty third century same as my pistol. It's called an energy wave grenade, usually nothing stops them" said Rip

He was frowning but it wasn't directed at Riley.

"Well something did because I barely felt a tingle" said Sara

"Yeah and the guy next to her lost his legs" said Jax

Rip was frowning and looked confused. Riley had no intention of clarifying things for him.

"I'm more concerned with where he got it" said Riley


	6. Chapter 6

Wave 6

"Yeah me too" said Jax

He opened his mouth to say more but the smaller ship had already docked. Rip had turned his attention to locking the smaller ship into place on the Wave Rider and then releasing the doors so they could board the larger ship. Rip was the first through the door followed by Jax and the professor, then Sara and finally Rory and Snart. They fell into step beside Riley.

"You think they are helping him?" said Snart

"I think someone is and his former employers make the most sense" said Riley

"He could have stolen it" said Rory

Riley and Snart both gave him incredulous looks.

"From where radio shack?" said Snart

Rory frowned because Snart had basically insulted him again. Riley kept walking following the others onto the bridge. They strapped in and Rip piloted the ship for what felt like a few feet then unstrapped.

Everyone gave him a confused look until Gideon turned on the front view screen and the pentagon clearly came into view. The others turned to look at Rip with confused looks on their faces.

"Welcome to 1986 right smack dab in the middle of the cold war. We've traveled here because I have a new lead on Vandal Savage's location" said Rip

They all gave him strange looks so he elaborated.

"While Miss Anderson still remains the authority on locating Savage, not withstanding, there are gaps in her knowledge." said Rip

Riley privately agreed with him. If she was right and Savage was time traveling, then those gaps and Savage's inability to be tracked made a certain amount of sense.

"Gideon has intercepted a telefax concerning savages last known where about" said Rip

"A tele what?" said Jax

"A telefax it's like email but with paper" said Palmer

Everyone but Riley gave him a confused look.

"He means a fax" said Riley

Still blank looks from everyone but Stein. So she turned to the old man for help.

"A facsimile is essentially a photocopy of a document transmitted via telephone lines" said Stein

Several of them nodded in understanding and Riley smirked at the professor because the entire group had just made them feel very old. He shook his head and smirked back. He knew what she was trying to do and was grateful for it.

"So it's essentially the way dinosaurs communicated with each other" said Jax

"So email with paper? seems dreadfully inefficient" said Ray

Stein got this indignant look on his face and started to open his mouth to reply and Riley simply flipped the boy off.

"All right enough you guys" said Rip

Sara chuckled because he did sound just like an exasperated father when he said that. Riley started to join in the laughter then realized that was what Rip had been at one point and now he wasn't, it promptly sobered her and she turned to see what he had to say. A form appeared on the screen with most of the lines blacked out.

"Obviously in this form it is unusable, so we are going after the original" said Rip

Everyone gave him stunned looks including Riley.

"You're kidding right" said Jax

"The security in that place is better than fort Knox" said Ray

"Yeah at least with fort Knox there is something worth stealing" said Snart

"Oh I am sure there is information in there worth more than a pile of gold" said Stein

"Yes, well be that as it may we are only after one piece" said Rip

"I take it you have a plan for getting us past security?" said Riley

"As a matter of fact I do" said Rip

He slid open a panel on the desk and retrieved a pile of ids from the opening and dropped them on the surface of the desk. Riley absently counted them and noted there was seven of them this time. Which meant one of them was staying on the ship again. Sara reached out and retrieved the one on the top because it had her photo on it. "Lieutenant commander?" said Sara

She raised an eyebrow and looked at Rip funny. That seemed to signal the others to retrieve theirs from the pile. It left only one sitting on the table. It was upside down so Riley flipped it over out of curiosity, thinking that it was probably Rip's. She was surprised to see her own face staring back at her. She picked it up and studied the picture, wondering briefly when Gideon had snapped the photo because it looked like she had posed for it. Truthfully she expected to be left behind again, so she was confused as to why Rip was suddenly including her in the group now. She gave him a questioning look because the Id labeled her as security.

"I took the liberty of creating false personas for each of you to match those credentials, they should make it easy for you to blend in" said Rip "What about getting into the area that form is kept in?" said Jax

Rip touched the screen and the overview of the building became a 3d map.

"The form is located in a file storage area in these rooms" said Rip

He highlighted an area towards the center of the building.

"You will need to obtain a pass in order to access this area, Mr. Snart, Miss Anderson I leave that in your capable hands" said Rip

"The rest of you are to run interference and keep anyone from tripping the alarm" said Rip

"Got it, get in and get out" said Sara

Rip nodded towards the fabrication room and the group started to move towards the door.

"Miss Anderson, may I have a word with you?" said Rip

She paused on her way to the door and stood off to the side as the others left the room. Rip was heading for his study so she followed him inside. He sat down in the chair and eyed her for a few minutes. The door slid shut behind her and she jumped slightly because she wasn't aware that the room even had a door.

She turned to glance at the door and then nervously turned back to Rip. "I am sorry if I startled you, but I have some things I wish to discuss with you that I feel would be best kept between us" said Rip

For some reason his tone worried her. Did he figure out she wasn't who she claimed to be? If so, was she going to have to hurt him to keep her secret. She could take over the ship if she had to but the others would be problematic.

"First of all I have to thank you for removing the photo from my watch, though I do have to ask how you knew to do that?" said Rip

Riley sighed in relief, so it wasn't what she thought it was. She was so relieved she could have wept. Then she realized she had to tell him what she suspected all along and was privately glad he had chosen to sit down.

"I removed it because I had a theory but you're not going to like it" said Riley

He nodded at her to continue. She bit her bottom lip and tried to gauge how he would react.

"I think you have been giving Savage all the information he needs to find your family and may have even prompted him to go after them in the first place because of your actions, I'm sorry" said Riley

His mouth dropped open in shock and he sat back in his chair. He looked stunned and hurt. He swallowed, as if he was trying to find his voice but couldn't. He looked so hurt that Riley slowly moved closer to him in concern.

She truthfully didn't want to tell him that but he had to know how he was effecting the timeline. His arms were resting on the desk, he lowered his head and rested his forehead on his hands. He was silent for so long that Riley became concerned. She truthfully never wanted to get attached to these people but she was finding that impossible not to do. She moved so she was right behind him and then she noticed the sound he was making. It was muffled but it was unmistakably sobbing. On impulse she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry" she whispered as she simply held him until he stopped. He shifted and pulled her closer so she was practically sitting on his lap. When he finally came to his senses he had his arms wrapped around her and his face buried in her chest.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you have been doing" he said

He pulled back and she released her hold on him and extricated herself from her current position so he could stand up.

"Which is why I have to say something to you, several members of the team, myself included, are worried about you." said Rip

Riley noted the concerned look in his eyes as well as the pain in their depths. He had suspected the same thing she did and now he was blaming himself. Mentally she kicked herself for even telling him in the first place. She gave him a confused look because truthfully he had lost her.

"You seem to be obsessed with Savage, even more so than I am and quite frankly it's scaring us" said Rip

She almost groaned out loud. Obsessed really? So she lost a little sleep big deal, it would be worth it in the end.

"Is this about the sleeping thing? Because honestly I've always been an insomniac" said Riley

He smiled at her.

"That is part of it yes but we also noticed other things" said Rip

She frowned because she wasn't sure what he was talking about and could think of no way she had given herself away.

"Like what?" said Riley

She was starting to get very concerned about the direction of this conversation.

"At the house you threw yourself into danger and went after Savage even though I asked you to remain by my side and at the ceremony you allowed that man to paw you as if you really were a call girl and then you very gleefully shoved a knife in Savage's back. I am fairly certain if Rory hadn't pulled you away you would have immolated the man alive" said Rip

Okay so he was right. Yes, she did throw herself into danger, but that was because she simply didn't care if she got hurt but she couldn't share that info or he would take her home.

"Okay at the house I will admit I shouldn't have done that and honestly it was a heat of the moment sort of thing. As for letting that asshole paw me, I was playing a part and as for Savage can you really say that the man doesn't deserve to be stabbed repeatedly" said Riley

He frowned at her. So she decided to insert just a little bit of truth in there

"Riley…." said Rip

"I know I've been pushing myself and yes when I'm researching something I do tend to get tunnel vision as it were, and occasionally neglect to sleep, or eat, but in Savage's case it's from a very real worry that if I don't give you all the information you need that one of you could get hurt or worse" said Riley

Okay so she was about to fight dirty here, but he had earlier with Albus.

"Like Carter, if I had been able to find something about who purchased the dagger before Snart and Ray went to the house, it might have been enough to prevent his death" said Riley

She let some very real guilt into her tone, because truthfully she did blame herself just a little bit for not preventing his death. Yeah Carter had been an ass and had wanted to ditch her but he didn't deserve to die for it. In fact, this whole die, rebirth, die thing kind of sucked for all parties involved.

Rip predictably reacted to the guilt in her tone and hugged her.

"Oh sweetheart, don't blame yourself you couldn't have seen that coming" said Rip


	7. Chapter 7

Wave 7

She just let herself react to the comfort he was offering because truthfully she did need that hug. She also had to admit that Rip's arms did feel nice wrapped around her and honestly if the man wasn't married, she so would have gone for him.

Yeah, he was destined to lose that family but that didn't mean she was going to be a homewrecker while the woman was still alive. She sighed, if they succeeded he would permanently be out of reach but he would be happy.

She lifted her head up and he wiped the tears, she didn't even know she was shedding, off her cheek. She could see the pain in his eyes and knew that he would never be the same again if they failed. In short he looked like a part of his soul had died with his family. Yeah, she could let him go if it meant that the pain in his eyes disappeared. She silently cursed herself for letting herself get that attached to the man in the first place.

She really needed to watch herself around these people. Rip especially, she had been altogether too close to giving herself completely away.

"Just promise me you'll be more careful" said Rip

She nodded at him because he was actually smiling and she had to admit the effect was dazzling. He still had his arm draped loosely around her as if he didn't want to let her go for some reason.

"Riley?" said Rip

She blinked and then registered that he was staring at her obviously expecting some sort of verbal response.

"Sorry not really used to having anyone care about me, I guess" said Riley

He gave her a sad look and for a moment understanding passed through his eyes. He brushed the hair from her eyes in what amounted to a caress and hesitated. He had his hand on her chin and was looking at her as if trying to decide something.

"You do now, try to remember that" said Rip

Then he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. Riley blinked in shock, what was he…what the…huh! What about Miranda?

He deepened the kiss and any thought she had of his former wife went right out the window. She wrapped her arms around his neck, promptly got over her initial shock, and responded to his actions wholeheartedly, until he pulled back.

He looked surprised by her actions, but he was also smirking.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that, but I think it's time I started moving on…Whoa!... I…um…wasn't really expecting you to respond like that" said Rip

He sounded slightly breathless and shocked. He opened his mouth to say something else and she put her finger on his mouth to stop any more apologies from coming out.

"So do you" said Riley

He gave her a confused look.

"We worry about you, just as much as you worry about us. I know you're used to working alone, but you're not anymore, you need to remember that" said Riley

He looked down.

"Riley… I…" said Rip

He took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes. Briefly she wondered if it showed how badly she wanted him to stop talking and continue that kiss. As much as she would find that and anything it led to later more than enjoyable, she knew in the end he would regret it, which is why she had to stop this.

"When you're truly ready, I'll be here. In the meantime, we have a paper to retrieve and a madman to track down" said Riley

He held onto her hand for just a few minutes longer, gently caressing her palm with his thumb absently, as he stared at her as if deciding on something.

"I know next to nothing about you" said Rip

She smirked at him.

"I thought you looked me up?" said Riley

"I did, but it didn't begin to tell me the kind of woman you are Riley" said Rip

She didn't know what to say to that, because truthfully she didn't see herself as anything special. In fact, it was probably best if he didn't get any more attached than he already was.

She shook her head no, because whatever it was he thought he was seeing was likely very far from the truth. She was not a good person, no matter how well she pretended to be one and she really didn't want him to know that. She started to step away from him but since he still had ahold of her hand she couldn't go far. He raised her hand to his mouth and gently kissed her knuckles.

"I look forward to seeing the rest, take care of yourself Miss Anderson" said Rip He released her hand and the door slid open behind her.

"The others are just about ready to go, you should hurry" said Rip

She took that as the dismissal it was and calmly walked out of the room. Inside she was a seething mess. What did he mean with that kiss? Or about moving on? Did it mean he had feelings for her, if so that was bad or was it?

Aah! She wanted to scream because she had no experience with this sort of stuff and didn't have a clue on how to sort it out. Maybe Sara or Kendra could help.

She walked into the fabrication room and the panel slid open, presenting her with her costume for this exercise. Rip must have preprogramed it. Sara was there putting the finishing touches on her ensemble and so was Kendra. She wondered, if now would be a good time to talk to them about what had just happened between her and Rip.

"So what did the captain want to talk to you about?" said Kendra

Was this the opening she needed?

"Ah just that he was worried about me, personally I think he worries about us all way too much" said Riley

Sara snorted in agreement. Kendra was eyeing her funny and so was Sara.

"That's not all that happened" said Sara

Riley sighed and pulled the skirt up her legs.

"No, something else happened and I'm not sure how I should react to it" said Riley

"Why what happened?" said Kendra

She slid her arms into the shirt and started buttoning it up.

"He kissed me" said Riley

They stared at her in shock for a few minutes, and they were so silent, that Riley looked up to see why.

"Did he say why?" said Kendra

She nodded yes.

"He said it was time he started moving on" said Riley

"He said the same thing on the dance floor with me, except I don't swing that way" said Sara

"How did you respond?" said Kendra

"I kissed him back, after I got over the shock. Sorry, that's the first time I've ever been kissed, I didn't know what I should do" said Riley

They both gave her shocked looks.

"That's the first time you've been kissed?" said Sara

She nodded yes. She wasn't exactly popular in school and after the disease wiped out most of the population, dating just wasn't even on the agenda. She slid on the shoes and grabbed the hat.

"Not even in school?" said Kendra

"No, was too much of a square I guess, why?" said Riley

They both shook their head in shock.

"How did he react?' said Sara

"He seemed shocked that I would respond, I guess and maybe a bit guilty, anyway I suggested we wait to go any further, because he still is fixated on Miranda, and honestly I don't want to be a homewrecker, even though technically the woman is dead" said Riley

They nodded as if they agreed with her.

"Do you love him?" said Kendra

Riley looked at her feet, man these shoes were hideous.

"I don't know; I've never been in love before" said Riley

To be honest if she had, she would want a guy like Rip, someone who would go to the ends of the earth to avenge her. They both gave her sad looks.

"Well it's obvious he likes you as more than a friend, so maybe this is meant to be" said Kendra

"Or he's drowning and you the only life raft he has" said Sara

Kendra frowned at her and Sara shrugged.

"To be honest both are plausible so I have no idea what I should do about it" said Riley

Both women frowned and looked at each other.

"Do what feels right to you" said Kendra

Riley frowned and followed both women out of the room. They left the wave rider in scattered groups and Riley was a bit apprehensive about stepping off of it. What if this was a trick to get her out of the way? She vowed to keep an eye on the others just in case. She checked in where she was supposed to and took her place manning one of the metal detectors.

The other guard was an older gentleman who was nearsighted and damn near deaf. In short it was easy to slip the others past him and when a woman who had the credentials they needed to get into the room passed by her, she gave the signal to Snart and he very smoothly removed it from the woman without her being the wiser along with her wallet. The badge was passed to Sara and they made their way to the back rooms they needed to get to. Everything was going smoothly until she spotted him.

Damn it what the hell was another time master doing here? He was dressed in a military uniform and she was pretty sure he was here to either retrieve her or Rip. He started towards her, as if he was going to go through her line. She tapped the old man and told him she was taking her lunch, the old guy just nodded and she stepped away, just as the time master reached the front of the line.

The others came out around that time and Riley signaled that the man may be trouble, right at the same time Kendra completely lost it and hawked out. The man hit the alarm and started for Riley. She bolted and made her way towards the hawk woman, as if she really was security and trying to get her under control.

Instead she hit the button that alerted the others while she used the confusion Kendra was causing to avoid the time master. Rip was yelling into their ear piece to abort. Riley used a little bit of water from where the guys had been mopping the floor, to help the guy Kendra was trying to claw the face off of right now, by knocking her backward.

Stein and Jax ended up grabbing a pissed off Kendra, before she could recover and they had to fight their way out of the building. Riley once again had to use her talents without giving herself away in the process, as they raced for the ship. She didn't see what happened to the time master in the confusion, but was willing to bet he was out there somewhere. It bothered her that they had somehow figured out where she had gone.

She had to make sure they were never alone with Rip or they could blow her entire cover and Rip really would ditch her. They did however get the paper and once everyone was on board ditching their pursuers was easy. Riley quickly changed back into her normal clothes and then joined the others on the flight deck.

Once again Rip chewed them a new one before he went over the form. Privately Riley agreed, Kendra really needed to get that hawk person inside her under control.

"Instead of dwelling on what went wrong let's focus on the positive" said Ray

"We did get the paper" said Sara

"Yes but the rest was a cluster fuck of epic proportions" said Jax

"What are you talking about that was awesome" said Rory

Riley thought so too because not only did they get the paper but they had avoided the time master at the same time. She raised her fist and Rory fist bumped her back.

"In the same way a tsunami earthquake and other natural disasters are awesome" said Stein

The conversation was rapidly heading towards an argument so Rip interrupted that heading by stating that Gideon had erased their images from the security footage by dropping an emp on the building. Before he turned his attention to the paper in front of them on the table. Riley stepped up to the table alongside the others.

"Russia, he defected to Russia" said Rip

"Yeah at the height of the cold war anybody bothered by that as much as I am?" said Jax

Riley had to remember to pretend to not know what the cold war was and just so she didn't give herself away, she had to ask.

"What is the cold war?" said Riley

Stein and Ray both opened their mouth to tell her, but Rip glared at them both and they froze. So she turned to Rip, crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the time master.

"You shouldn't have too much knowledge of the future" said Rip

Riley gave him a wry look and waved to the room they were in.

"Bit late for that man" said Snart

Rip sighed.

"Fine go ahead and explain it you two" said Rip

He waited patiently for the two men to explain to Riley what she already knew before he moved on.

"It says here he was doing some sort of research on a project named Svarog, I think that's the Slavic god of fire" said Stein

Rip put a woman's face up on the screen and she frowned when the guys all went goo goo eyed about her.

"Valentina Vostok, the main researcher on the project" said Rip

A second set of pictures was brought up and it was unmistakably firestorm.

"Yeah but she might not know who is funding her" argued Ray

Riley rolled her eyes and was about to say something else when the whole ship shuddered. Rip raced for the pilot's chair.

"Gideon talk to me" said Rip

"It seems our friend chronos has returned" said Gideon

Everyone was already heading for their seats before Rip even had the time to suggest it.

"Doesn't this guy ever give up?" said Jax

Riley was fairly certain; she knew who to blame for Chronos finding them so easily.

"Gideon take us into Russian airspace and fly low" said Rip

Everyone gave him shocked looks but Rip ignored them.

"Ah wouldn't that attract the Russian..." said Ray

"Air force I'm counting on it actually" said Rip

A few minutes later, and quite a few shots from Chrono's in the meantime and they now had a couple of Miggs jets chasing them as well. The migs shot down Chronos, but unfortunately one of his shots hit the waverider and now they were crashing.

Riley clung to her harness for dear life, as the ship bounced, made weird shrieking grinding noises, at one point just free fell and then came to a grinding halt as it plowed through the ground.

"Well that's just wonderful, that was a great landing" said Rip

Riley hoped that was the man's idea of humor as she watched him unstrap to go check the damage.

"That was your idea of a good landing? The people that gave you your pilots license should take it away" said Stein

"any landing you can walk away from…" said Ray

"is a good landing, seriously stop quoting top gun" said Snart

"Gideon?" said Rip

"The damage is minor captain and should only take a few days to repair" said Gideon

"Gideon is the camouflage still working?" said Rip

"Affirmative captain" said Gideon

Rip sighed in relief

"Gideon please make us blend into our surroundings" said Rip

"They are welcome to do so, considering I do not have one professor, welcome to Russia, ladies and gentlemen, now if you will excuse me I'm going to go fix the hole in my ship" said Rip

"What about Chronos?" said Kendra

"He went down before we did, hopefully his ship is worse off than ours" said Sara They were slowly unstrapping and climbing to their feet. Rip had already disappeared into the back of the ship.

"Maybe we should start tracking down that Russian lady" said Jax

"I could stand to brush up on my Russian ballet" said Ray

He sounded like he intended to do more than watch ballet. Riley was watching him and he seemed to be acting like he was looking forward to playing spy. She rolled her eyes the man obviously had fantasies of being James Bond or something, too bad he was closer to a Maxwell Smart.

"You planning to also fit in language classes too, because you approach her in English and she'll peg you as a spy in a heartbeat" said Sara

Rip came out of the back room carrying a box, he set it on the table and opened it.

"Ingestible translators, swallow one and you'll instantly be able to speak and understand any language spoken to you" said Rip

"Seriously?" said Riley

Okay she knew they existed but had never had an opportunity to use one before, man what she would have done to have one of those back at the university she would have aced Spanish for sure.

"Try one" said Rip

Ray picked one up and so did Riley. It looked vaguely like a cold capsule.

"Do you need to adjust it to understand a different language or is it automatic?" said Stein

"Man what I wouldn't have given to have one of these in high school Spanish I would have straight up aced that class" said Jax

Riley smirked because she had been thinking the same thing a few minutes ago. "That would have been cheating Jefferson and unethical" said Stein.

"Yes but it would have gotten that old witch Gomez off my back" said Jax

Ray was eyeing his closely.

"How does it work?" said Ray

Rory reached over and picked one up and stared at it.

"It lodges itself at the back of your throat near the vocal chords and transmits the translations directly to your brain through electrical impulses, the same way everything else in your body communicates" said Rip

He picked one up and tossed it down his throat. Everyone watched him for a moment because they weren't sure what to expect. Well beyond the funny face Rip made briefly, that is. Ray swallowed his and so did Snart. Rory, Jax, Riley, and Stein waited until they showed that there were no adverse effects to the things. Sara was watching Riley for some reason

"How do we test it; does anyone speak a foreign language?" said Riley

"I do" said Sara

"So say something, let's see if they work" said Ray

Sara frowned then said something in what sounded like Arabic

"Well did you understand that?" said Riley

The guys smirked at Sara.

"Yep, loud and clear" said Snart

"What did she say?" said Rory

Snart smirked and so did the others.

"I'll tell you later" said Snart

The others gave Sara a confused look. She shook her head no and popped one of those translators into her mouth. Riley,Jax and Stein turned to look at Rip and Ray.

"Nope" said Rip

Riley turned towards Ray who looked guiltily away. So it was about her was it? "It's nothing bad I swear" said Ray

She frowned at him and vowed she would just review the security footage later with one of those translators in her mouth. She promptly swallowed the one in her hand. Jax, Stein and Rory followed suit. Rip hit a button on the table then grabbed his repair kit.

"She usually attends the opening performance which is tonight, plenty of time for you to learn what you need to know" said Rip

"Dr Palmer you will engage Vostok at the ballet, you're going to be his wingman" said Rip

"Oy" said Snart

"Better go bone up on Vostok's CV" said Ray

"Guess I'll bone up on the ballet, Gideon bone me" said Snart

"Sara, a word with you please" said Rip

Sara followed him into the office and the door slid shut.

"Now what did you mean by that?" said Rip

Sara looked briefly at the door and watched Riley until she left the room.

"I don't know, it's just instinct I guess but there is more to that girl than meets the eye" said Sara

"Like what?" said Rip

He sounded slightly defensive so Sara back tracked what she had been about to say.

"Like how Kendra was knocked off that guy back at the pentagon and none of us were close enough to touch her" said Sara

Rip frowned at her but seemed to be considering her words as well. He sighed

"I do believe you Sara and I have noticed a few things off about miss Anderson, contrary to what you believe I am not discounting your suspicions because I like the girl" said Rip

"So you do like her" said Sara

"yes Sara, very much so which is why the more I learn about her the more protective of her I seem to get" said Rip

Sara tilted her head and regarded the former time master for a few minutes. "You're afraid" said Sara

Rip stood and paced behind his desk, cupping his hands by his mouth in a nervous gesture before turning back to Sara.

"Very much so, terrified actually because I don't want to lose her the way I did Miranda… I just... I couldn't handle it" said Rip

Sara looked awkwardly away.

"Hey look I'm the last person you want to talk about feelings with but I do know you've gotten that girl seriously confused, so just don't hurt her okay" said Sara Rip nodded in understanding.

"I will endeavor to do just that, speaking of which I need you to help Kendra get that inner battle goddess under control" said Rip

Sara shook her head no and Rip outlined his reasoning.

Riley giggled and left the bridge. She didn't care what Ray thought that Russian woman wasn't innocent and her name sounded familiar. She would be willing to bet she was an ancestor to someone in her time period that was a willing accomplice to Savage.

She entered her room and flopped down on her bed. She reached for the notebook intending to see if there were any entries with that woman's last name. A dvd case caught her attention and she pulled it out from under the night stand. After taking a close look at it she realized it was an anime and if she recalled correctly the words below the title were in Japanese characters.

Now they weren't or at least she was seeing them as English. She stood up and walked back towards the bridge. Rory passed her and he was carrying welding equipment.

"Captain asked for help" said Rory

"Rory what does that say?" said Riley

"Sailor moon, why doll face?" said Rory

"No below that" said Riley

"Chronicles of the crystal palace, why?" said Rory

He sounded confused.

"Because this morning it was written in Japanese and now we both can read it" said Riley

Rory nodded

"Cool!" said Rory

Then he continued on his way to wherever Rip was. She hesitated in the hall. Everyone was currently busy, which meant she could look at the footage now, but what if Rip put some sort of alert in the system.

"Gideon how bad is the damage really?" said Riley

"It is only a small hole in the aft section of the ship Miss Anderson, no need for you to be concerned, the captain has it well in hand" said Gideon

She nodded in understanding.

"Gideon, do you record everything that happens on this ship?" said Riley

"Yes Miss Anderson, the captain likes to review the footage at his leisure" said Gideon

Riley froze suddenly remembering what she had confessed to prior to the pentagon job. Ah Shit!

"Did he review any of the footage from the fabrication room yet?" said Riley

"Yes Miss Anderson, that footage has already been reviewed, is there anything else?" said Gideon

The computer sounded annoyed.

"Actually yes, can you play back the recording for the bridge from about twenty minutes ago?" said Riley

"I could, but the captain has asked me not to, and to notify him should you try to access my systems again" said Gideon

She froze in shock, ooh that…ooh…why that…insufferable git

"I see, thank you Gideon, has he instructed you to keep us all inside?" said Riley She really needed to go for a walk and just get away from this ship, before she seriously hurt a certain time master.

"No he has not, but the black forest in the middle of Russia is not somewhere you want to be lost in, if you like I can inform one of the others and they can accompany you" said Gideon

Riley firmly resisted the urge to smirk or get angry. That would kind of defeat the purpose of going for the walk in the first place.

"Fine go ahead, I'll meet them outside if you don't mind" said Riley

Gideon hesitated, then the door opened and Riley stepped out into the sunshine.

She moved away from the ship and acted like she intended to wait on a rock, for all of about three seconds, then quickly headed for the tree line. As she walked, she called the water from the ground and created a fine mist that clung to the ground like fog. She wanted to be alone right now and she didn't care what that machine thought. She was fairly certain they knew something or at least were beginning to suspect something. She just wasn't sure what it was.


	8. Chapter 8

Wave 8

She walked for quite some time. Using the water to both track the ship's location and to tell her when one of them stepped off the ship after her. She found a small lake and stopped by its edge. Her thoughts were reeling. Rip had thrown her for a loop with that kiss and now she wasn't sure what to do about it. The last thing she wanted to do was cause the man more pain but if she went through with this then she would die.

Rip was already getting attached and the others were showing signs of doing the same. If any of them knew her plans they would try to stop her for sure. Then there was, the time masters to contend with. They obviously figured out who she was and deemed what she was doing enough of a threat to send someone after her.

She hated to have to kill the man for just doing his job but she would if she had to. All of it just made her want to scream. All she wanted to do was kill the bastard, why were so many obstacles getting in her damn way? Her fists clenched at her side and she let out a short frustrated scream, the water in front of her was practically frothing.

Calm she needed calm. She closed her eyes and just immersed herself in the feeling of being surrounded by her element. So far no one had come after her and the only life near her was what lived in the forest. She sighed then pulled some of the water towards her and made it form a water spout, then two, three all the way up to six. She twisted them to form shapes, flung them like whips and used them to cut some of the small boulders around the lake into pieces. She was just starting to relax thanks to her exercises. Then she felt him and groaned.

"You can stop hiding I know you are there" said Riley

The time master from earlier stepped out from behind a tree. He stopped a few feet from her and she noted he had a weapon already drawn.

"You can either put that away or I can remove the hand holding it" said Riley

The man hesitated.

"I still can shoot you with the other one" said the man

Riley chuckled in response, kid was cheeky she liked that.

"And I can dehydrate you to dust instantly, why are you here?" said Riley

"My mission was to retrieve you ma'am, and then place a tracer so Chronos can find the others" said the man

"What is your name?" said Riley

"Niles, Niles Killian. Ma'am please, I do not want to hurt you, but I must stop you from continuing down this path. It is nothing short of temporal suicide and you are too important to the timeline for us to allow that" said Niles

She laughed at him. Yeah he was spot on but she didn't care.

"And if I suddenly decide to not do all of the things I am supposed to do?" said Riley

"Ma'am please, it's your destiny all I can do is take you home, what you do from there is your own choice" said Nile

"Niles, get in your ship and go home to your masters and tell them to go fuck themselves" said Riley

She could feel someone had stepped off the Wave Rider and they were coming her way now.

"Ma'am please I do not wish to shoot you but I will if you try to leave" said Niles "I'm sorry, but I gave you fair warning" said Riley

She was through messing around, she had to deal with this man and do it quickly. So she simply knocked the weapon away and broke both his legs from the inside. He screamed and collapsed to the ground. He tried to crawl to the weapon she had knocked out of his hand. She beat him to it and leaned down to pick it up.

On the Wave Rider

Rip was soldering part of a panel back together after fixing the circuits that had been fried behind it.

"Captain Hunter?" said Gideon

"Yes Gideon?" said Rip

"Miss Anderson has left the ship, I requested that she wait for someone to accompany her, given where we landed sir, but she seems to have not heeded my wishes" said Gideon

Rip turned off the blow torch and raised the face plate.

"Where is she now?" said Rip

"Her bio tracer shows that she has stopped beside a small lake approximately twenty kilometers from our location, should I send someone out to look for her?" said Gideon

Rip swore and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Did she say why she left?" said Rip

"No sir, she just asked if I recorded everything that happened on the ship and I informed her that I did" said Gideon

"You do?" said Rory

Rip hushed him, he could see where this was heading.

"Did you also inform her what I do with the recordings?" said Rip

"Just that you review them sir, not that you destroy them afterwards" said Gideon

Rip wiped his hand down his face.

"Wonderful, just simply wonderful" said Rip

He climbed to his feet.

"I suppose I should go after her" said Rip

"Why what did you get on tape?" said Rory

"Just something that she wasn't ready to share just yet, I'll be right back" said Rip He started to walk away and Rory laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me get her, Chrono's is still out there somewhere gunning for you and we need you to fix the ship, or ain't none of us getting home" said Rory

He stood up and headed for the door.

"Besides if she's hurt or something I can carry her, you can't" said Rory

Rip hesitated, he really should go after her himself.

"Captain, I have detected the temporal wake of another time ship in Miss Anderson's vicinity" said Gideon

Rip noted the AI actually sounded worried and that really was not a good sign. "Cancel that last plan, I'm going with you Mr. Rory" said Rip

"Can I bring my gun?" said Rory

"Yeah but hurry" said Rip

He was pulling off his welding gear as he walked. He retrieved his side arm and by the time he reached the door Rory was already there. Rip checked the charge on his side arm and they both exited the ship into a fog bank.

"Gideon?" said Rip

"Just keep moving forward sir; as soon as you reach the tree line it dissipates some" said Gideon

Rory was looking around and noting that the fog seemed to be centered around the ship.

"Odd weather is this normal for Russia?" said Rory

"No, no it's not. It strikes me as a bit odd as well, let's find miss Anderson quickly. I mislike her being out here by herself, in this" said Rip

Rory snorted at his comment.

"When are you going to admit it?" said Rory

"Admit what?" said Rip

He sounded confused or at least focused on something else.

"That you like her" said Rory

"Mr. Rory I already have, which is why Miss Anderson is out here I would imagine" said Rip

Rory glared at him.

"What do you mean?" said Rory, his voice was practically a growl. Rip sighed and stopped walking and turned to Rory

"We kissed and by kissed I mean I kissed her and she responded rather enthusiastically I might add. She has had no prior experience with the heart per se, so I am assuming that I caused her a bit of confusion. Which I have every intention of clarifying once I find her" said Rip

Riley

"Who sent you after me?" said Riley

She sat down on a rock and started emptying the weapon of charges.

"The council" said Niles

His voice was strained because it was obvious he was in great pain. Riley snorted at his attempt at subterfuge.

"I knew that dip shit, what I want to know is who sent you out here without at least warning you how dangerous I was?" said Riley

Personally she had nothing against the kid, because truthfully that is what the guy was. She would be willing to bet this was his first assignment too.

"I…um…may have skimmed through the file, why?" said Niles

She dropped the empty weapon behind her and approached the kid.

"Well that was stupid" said Riley

She knelt down next to him and shoved her hand into his jacket.

"No, wait what…" said Niles

He ended the protest with a groan when she removed his holdout from his jacket and the knife in his boot.

"Ooh tricky, tricky... I like" said Riley

The boy blushed.

"This is your first assignment isn't it?" said Riley

The boy promptly refused to answer. Riley just shook her head because he had answered her even if he didn't mean to.

"Please miss, just let me take you home, please I'm begging you do not do this" said Niles

Riley promptly stripped the remaining weapon and chucked the knife into the lake.

"Niles honey, you can't even take yourself home right now and honestly you should be more worried about surviving this experience, now do be a good boy and answer my questions and I may help you get back to your ship. Keep being stubborn and I'll leave you for those wolves over the next ridge" said Riley

The boy swallowed nervously and looked terrified but remained stubbornly silent. She could tell he wasn't worried about the wolves which meant, he was a distraction. She felt him brush across her awareness about the same time she noticed two of her teammates were on their way toward her.

Not good, not good at all. If the two time masters talked Rip would know everything and most likely would ditch her. She closed her eyes and counted bodies. So far it was only one other time master and her teammates.

"Ah you didn't come alone, now why am I not surprised, you can step out now" said Riley

An older time master stepped from the shadows.

"Ah Miss Anders I see you have met my protégé; Niles you were supposed to just distract her" said the man

"I'm sorry sir; I saw that she was alone and hoped that if I just talked to her, she would see reason" said Niles

The man looked Niles over and noted the odd angle of his legs. The man nodded in understanding as if he expected her reaction.

"Didn't read the materials did you?" said the man

Niles looked down in shame and shook his head no. The older one looked very familiar and Riley struggled to place the name with the face or at least the moniker the man used most frequently.

"Puce?" said Riley

The older man frowned

"It's Druce actually" said Rip

He stepped from the tree line and Riley silently cursed the man's timing.

"Miss Anderson, are you all right?" said Rip

"Yep just peachy, Puce was just leaving weren't you?" said Riley

The man opened his mouth to protest and Riley gave him an instant case of cotton mouth. The last thing she wanted was for these two to compare notes. "Can I shoot them?" said Rory stepping out from behind Rip.

Rip looked from Druce, to the boy on the ground and frowned.

"No that won't be necessary at the moment" said Rip

Rory was eyeing the kid on the ground

"What the fuck happened to him?" said Rory

He pointed at Niles, Druce gave her a very pointed look.

"We had a disagreement so I broke his legs, can we leave now?" said Riley

Rip and Rory both gave her almost identical looks of surprise that would have been comical under any other circumstance.

"You did..." said Rory

Riley simply nodded, she wanted to be very far away from these two because they could blow her whole cover sky high.

"Can I talk to you alone for just a few minutes?" said Druce to Rip

Riley glared at the man and pointedly sat down next to the kid on the ground. Rip gave her a confused look.

"We'll keep his protégé company until you get back, oh and Puce if my Captain doesn't come back in one piece your protégé will be going home in tiny pieces" said Riley

She rested a dagger she kept on her person across her knees and smirked at the man.

"Tiny crispy pieces" said Rory

He gave the time master a glare of his own. Niles gave his mentor a terrified look. Druce swallowed nervously and followed Rip into another clearing.

"Now what did you want to say, that you could not say in front of my friends?" said Rip

He sounded less than thrilled to be there and maybe a bit annoyed. Druce looked back at the clearing he had just left, with no small amount of worry on his face. "That girl back there isn't who you think she is, you have to stop this and take her home" said Druce

Rip frowned at the other man in confusion

"Why, who is she?" said Rip

"Look our original priority was to bring you in and stop this crusade you started, that's been sidelined once she joined you." said Druce

He had Rip's attention now, even if Rip was only halfway trusting what the man was saying to him.

"Look in all the time we have known each other have I once lied to you?" said Druce

Rip thought about it and shook his head no.

"If the girl succeeds and you and your team are somehow able to kill Savage, it will cause irreparable damage to the entire timeline that will echo throughout the next several millennia" said Druce

He pulled a file chip from his jacket

"Look I was originally sent here to scuttle Chrono's ship because he didn't survive the crash but I'm asking you to do the right thing here, just watch this it will tell you who she really is. If you do not trust me watch it on a separate system, please if there is any time master left in you at all, just think about what you're doing, you were once one of my best and brightest, please stop this. It's not too late for you to come back. I have been authorized to offer you and your crew clemency but only if you turn her over to us" said Druce

Rip snorted but took the chip from Druce's hands. Druce looked back at the clearing with a worried look on his face.

"We should head back, before she thinks I did something to you" said Druce

He started for the clearing and a confused Rip tucked the chip inside his jacket and followed the man. Why was Druce acting like he was afraid of Riley?

"Why are you afraid of her?" said Rip

Druce made a snorting sound.

"Cause she's dangerous and depending on where she is on her timeline, may or may not have learned the quality of mercy as of yet" said Druce

He turned to give Rip a considering look.

"Then again maybe this is where she learns it" said Druce

Riley was tapping her foot impatiently and glaring at the kid.

"So what did he say that made you break his legs?' said Rory

He sat on an adjoining rock and looked towards Riley.

"He mentioned home...it's a bit of a sore spot" said Riley

"Why?" said Rory

"Don't have one anymore" said Riley

Rory nodded and moved towards the kid. Niles tried to move away but Rory simply grabbed his jacket and pulled the guy upright.

"All right you, why are you two really here?" said Rory

Niles glanced at Riley then back at Rory and swallowed nervously.

"They mean to kill him" said Riley

Rory turned to look at her and nodded, which meant he came to the same conclusion she had. The kid shook his head no.

"No, no we are only here to arrest Mr. Hunter and Miss Anders" said Niles

Rory turned to look at her funny and she shrugged. She knew she should have stayed on the damn ship.

"I'm missing something here, care to share?" said Rory

He was loosely pointing his gun in her direction.


	9. Chapter 9

Wave 9

Riley mentally groaned this was precisely why she should have done this on her own. She quickly decided she would own up to a limited amount of information just to keep them in the dark about the rest. She sighed and flopped down on the Rock next to Niles.

"When I was little, about ten or eleven I was living on the streets. This guy came up to me one day and offered me a job. I refused of course because I knew what sick old men meant when they offered a little girl a job. Turned out he was some sort of time thief and he needed someone small, like me to retrieve something. I accepted because he offered me money and at the time I was starving so when he threw in food it was a done deal. After the job I stayed with them for a while until they got arrested by the time masters. Puce was the wanker that took me home" said Riley

"So you've got history?" said Rory

Riley nodded yes. Niles was staring at her in shock

"You were a time pirate?" said Niles

Riley nodded yes just as Druce and Rip entered the clearing. Rip motioned for Rory and Riley to come with him.

"I will discuss your offer with my crew and I will call you when we make a decision" said Rip

Druce knelt beside Niles and tried to help the other man to his feet. The kid let out a short gasping scream when Druce pulled him up and onto his shattered limbs. Riley paused and watched them struggle for a few seconds before she turned to Rory.

"Fine but I ain't going anywhere near his ship" said Rory.

Rip sighed and gave her a confused look.

"We can't leave him here, there are wolves out here and Puce can't lift him" said Riley

Rip rubbed his eyes.

"Fine Mr. Rory will you please carry Mr..." said Rip

"Killian" said Riley

"Killian, to our med bay" said Rip

With a sigh Rory leaned down picked up the kid and flung him over a shoulder, like some damsel in distress. Druce started to follow them to the ship until Rip stopped him.

"I'll call you when he's done and you can meet him somewhere" said Rip

Druce frowned but relented. Either the kid had impressed her or she really was learning mercy from them. Rory took the lead and Rip fell into step beside her.

"how do you know Druce?" said Rip

Riley wanted to scream. Damn them why couldn't they just leave it alone.

"I ran with the wrong crowd when I was younger, Druce was the one that arrested us and gave me a ride home" said Riley

Rip frowned at her answer.

"Arrested you for what?" said Rip

Riley looked embarrassed and truthfully she was for some of the stuff they did.

"Stealing shit throughout time and messing with the timeline" said Riley Rip abruptly stopped in shock.

"Time pirates? You ran with time pirates?" said Rip

She nodded yes and turned to gauge his reaction. So far he was buying her explanation.

"Messing with the timeline?" said Rory

He had stopped and turned to listen to them.

"We may have introduced a few words and phrases a bit before their time" said Riley

Rip was giving her an amused look now.

"Like what?" said Niles

Riley turned to the boy because she had quite forgotten his presence. "We may have taught the Vikings the word dude and a few samurai to rock on, among other things" said Riley

Rory started laughing and Rip was grinning.

"Bet they didn't find that amusing in the least" said Niles

Rip shook his head to clear the mental image she created.

"How old were you that they let that go, usually they would have executed you for sure for stuff like that" said Rip

"Eleven" said Riley

Rip stared at her in shock.

"You're kidding" said Niles

Riley shook her head no.

"So, why is he afraid of you?" said Rip

Riley shrugged and started walking again

"Maybe it has to do with me stabbing him, but let's face it the man has no skills when it comes to children" said Riley

"You stabbed master Druce?" said Niles

"Yep, repeatedly, man could never find all the knives I hid on my person and he was bragging about killing my friends; so yeah I stabbed the wanker, right in the jewels" said Riley

They all winced in sympathy.

"Yeah that'll do it" said Rory

They had reached the ship and Rip had Rory stand farther away from the door so Niles couldn't see the door code. The rest of the team met them at the door. Rory carried the boy past them and into the sick bay.

"What happened? Gideon told us Riley was in trouble but refused to open the door" said Jax

"Miss Anderson decided to take a walk, to deal with an emotional upset I may have caused and ran into one of my former mentors and the man's trainee. She promptly disabused the man of the notion of arresting her" said Rip

"That was because captain hunter and Mr. Rory already had the situation well at hand" said Gideon

"Still doesn't mean we can't check on them" said Ray

"Who the heck is he?" said Sara

"A stray time master trainee Miss Anderson took pity on, don't worry he isn't staying" said Rip

"After she did what to him first? or did my partner do it?" said Snart "Broke his legs" said Rip

"Wait you mean to tell us sweet little Riley broke someone's legs? Our researcher?" said Stein

"Yes professor there seems to be a great deal more to Miss Anderson than we have been privy to" said Rip

"Yeah like the fact she can fight" said Sara

Riley had followed Rory into the sick bay and watched as he flopped Niles onto the bed like a rag doll. The boy gasped and arched his back in pain.

"Easy dude, he has broken legs" said Riley

Rory growled in response

"If he ever fucks with my team mates again I'll break more than his legs" said Rory

The kid swallowed and shrunk back into the chair. She eyed the big man for a second absurdly worried he was getting attached as well, before she patted his arm.

"Thanks big guy, I'll take it from here" said Riley

She wanted a few minutes alone with the kid because despite the fact he was on the other side he could still be useful to her plans. Provided of course he was willing to cooperate. Rory crossed his arms and glared at the kid instead and she mentally swore.

"Don't trust him" said Rory

The kid swallowed nervously but somewhere found the courage to reply.

"Why what have I done?" said Niles

Riley frowned because other than show up at the wrong time and try to arrest her he hadn't done anything wrong.

"You tried to arrest a friend of mine and I don't like cops" said Rory

The kid tried to shift and hissed in pain as the bones moved.

"Mr. Killian, please try to remain immobile until the bones in your legs are reset" said Gideon

The man stopped trying to move and simply nodded. Riley frowned and walked over to the screen to see just how much damage she had done.

"They are cleanly broken Miss Anderson and should take a minimal amount of time to heal" said Gideon

Riley almost sighed in relief, yeah she was irritated with the kid but she wasn't trying to cost him the use of his legs.

"I'm not a cop, I'm a time master and so is the man you call captain. I had no intention of harming her, I was simply trying to help her. Besides I can do nothing to her now I can't even walk and I'm unarmed" said Niles

Rory snorted in response.

"You got moxi kid, I can see why she likes you" said Rory

Niles froze in response as if he had no idea how to respond to that. Riley mused that he probably didn't given the no fraternization rule. The kids statement was ended with a hiss of pain because he had shifted again without meaning to.

"Gideon can you give Mr. Killian something for the pain please, Riley a word please" said Rip

He was standing in the doorway and staring at her as if deciding something. Before the kid could protest that he didn't want anything, Gideon injected him with something and the guy drifted off to sleep whether he wanted to or not. Reluctantly, Riley followed Rip out of the room.

"Don't worry hon I'll watch him" said Rory

Riley was going over possible scenarios in her mind about what Rip wanted to talk about and how to respond to each one in a way that wouldn't get her kicked off the ship. She was fairly certain Druce had given Rip something when they were alone, though she was also worried about what he had said as well. She was going to have to do some serious damage control after this incident. He walked into his office and Riley noted as they passed that no one else was on the flight deck. It both worried and relieved her for some reason.

The door slid shut behind her again and Rip flopped down in his chair. He looked less than happy and at the moment anything but friendly. She had no problem seeing why this man had the reputation he had within the time masters. From what she had read of his file; he was like a dog with a bone when it came to pursuing his quarry. Definitely someone you wanted on your side not against you.

He seemed to be weighing his words or at least trying to decide what to ask. Riley was already coming up with plausible explanations for what she thought he was going to ask.

"I'm going to ask you some questions Riley and how you answer them will determine if you stay on with us or I throw you off my ship" said Rip She swallowed nervously because she was fairly certain he meant literally and that would really hurt because she had gotten quite fond of the man. She wasn't really that worried about being stranded in Russia because she could always walk home if she had to. Crossing that much open water would be a pain in the ass though.

"Okay… what did you want to know?" said Riley

She kept her tone neutral and wary, letting some fear creep into her tone because she was indeed worried he would throw her off the ship.

"Master Druce said you were integral to the timeline and implied that your presence here could cause... long term destruction, why would he think that?" said Rip

He pinned her with a glare and she swallowed in response. Great he would ask the one thing she couldn't answer without giving everything away.

"I don't know maybe I'm supposed to do something in the future, that I couldn't do without you guys" said Riley

Rip frowned at her response.

"You expect me to buy that? Riley, or whoever you are, you traveled with time pirates are you seriously trying to tell me you didn't go forward into the future" said Rip

He sounded angry and he was actually scaring her. So of course she responded the way she always did when she got scared.

"No, of course not we went forward, had to fence the stuff somewhere. Maybe it has to do with something we stole? We did spend a lot of time avoiding the time masters, I didn't look anything up because I couldn't, the ship we stole had us locked out of everything except the flight controls. Plus, I truthfully didn't care, I was just happy I found a place I belonged." said Riley

Okay so she went with honesty because it was easier to slip a lie in when you surround it with the truth. Rip hesitated and she could see some of the anger dissipate but it was by no means completely gone.

"How did this make it past Gideon's check?" said Rip

"I do not know captain" said Gideon

He sighed and rested his elbows on the table. He seemed to be considering her words or still plotting to kick her out.

"Perhaps it's because we went back and forth so many times that my timeline isn't really a line anymore, probably more of a Celtic knot slash basket weave" said Riley

He answered her with a glare.

So she decided to undermine his trust in Druce a little.

"He's planning on killing you, you know" said Riley

Rip frowned at her.

"What makes you say that?" said Rip

She gave him a level look.

"Seriously Rip, you just told me they would have executed me for writing graffiti on the colosseum before there was graffiti, what do you honestly think they're going to do to you for deliberately trying to change the timeline?" said Riley

Rip smirked ever so slightly

"You wrote graffiti on the colosseum?" said Rip

Riley nodded

"Yeah apparently bored child and time machine are a bad mix, so I wrote my name and that I was here on a wall while they were building the coliseum and took a selfie" said Riley

He grinned in response and shook his head before he remembered the rest of her words.

"You really think they mean to kill me?" said Rip

She nodded yes, because yes she did believe they would do exactly that.

"Us, it just wouldn't be you they killed but everyone on this ship" said Riley

Rip played with his beard briefly before he realized what he was doing and stopped. Riley assumed it was a nervous habit because she had observed him doing it on more than one stressful occasion. She just wished she knew what Druce had told him that would stress him out so much.

"All the more reason I should take you home" said Rip

Riley frowned at him, if he did that his crusade would fail and she would be on her own.

"Is that what they wanted you to do?" said Riley

He nodded yes and bit his bottom lip as he stared at her. Okay time to redirect again with a little sprinkling of truth thrown in for spice.

"Have you ever thought they were scared, that with me you have a very real possibility of succeeding, and they want to separate us for that reason?" said Riley

It was true without her he would fail, that timeline had already been written, but it was written without her in the equation. He seemed to weighing her words and she hoped she wouldn't have to hurt the man should he decide otherwise. He looked at the desk and sighed.

"You believe we can succeed?" said Rip

He sounded sad and as if he didn't really believe that they could do this. Fortunately, Riley did truly believe, with a faith that bordered on fanatic.

"If you believe you can't lose even mountains will move, we'll save them honey you just have to have faith" said Riley

Rip sighed and his hand brushed the pocket that contained the file.

"He gave you something didn't he?" said Riley

He paused and gave her a wary look. She raised her hand in surrender.

"Observant" said Riley

He smirked some

"Yeah very and yes he did give me something. He said it was the truth about you and that you altered your files somehow" said Rip

He snorted because he knew the only ones who had access to those files were time masters and had yet to make the connection that Riley could very well be one in the future.

Riley snorted as if what he said was absurd. Rip pulled the tiny file chip from his pocket and examined it.

"So what do you think it does contain?" said Riley

Rip frowned at her.

"I have no idea but we can find out" said Rip

He hit a panel and part of the tabletop slid away to reveal what looked like usb ports. He started to reach forward to insert the chip and Riley covered his hand. He looked up at her.

"What if it contains something to disable the ship?" said Riley


	10. Chapter 10

Wave 10

She could pretty much guess what was on that file and knew that Druce would never do something so obvious like putting a fail safe program on something he gave to Rip. He however didn't know that and she could see that she had already undermined Rip's trust in the man. He hesitated and then slowly pulled his hand back.

"What do you think is on it?" said Rip

She was pretty sure Druce had given him her whole timeline on that drive but she also knew that if she could draw his focus away from wanting to look at it she could always alter it later.

"Honestly I'm sure it's all the pertinent details about my past and the pirates. Some of them were pretty unsavory and I know they killed at least a couple time masters. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them threw me under the bus to save their own skin" said Riley

Okay she was certain John and the others were dead, but she had no doubt that they would sell her out if it came down to them or her, so it was mostly truth. The anger was back and she could tell just by the set of his jaw that it was going to be a stone bitch to get it to leave this time.

"Did you?" said Rip

Riley gave him a confused look. She knew what he was asking of course but needed him to think she was clueless.

"Did I what?" said Riley

"Kill any of them, did you kill any time masters Riley?" said Rip

He looked angry and she could swear she saw thunder heads brewing in his eyes. She looked down and thought about what she had done. Truthfully she didn't kill any of them but she also didn't help them either. She had even believed John partially when he said he was just going to lock the man up, at least until she checked on the man and found the brig deserted. She knew he could react badly to this, but she needed to let him know that yeah she had been stupid, but she had never killed any of the time masters they encountered.

"No, but I didn't help them either. Not even when I suspected they were going to kill them" said Riley

She could feel the tears leaking out of her eyes and did nothing to stop their flow. She truly felt bad for her actions and like an imbecile for falling for John's lies. Rip was just watching her. The anger was still there but the tears were slowly mitigating it. He held out a tissue to her when she started sobbing.

"I'm so sorry… I'm a horrible person…I'm so stupid… Arrgh!... Why did I believe him… he said he wasn't going to hurt them just borrow their ship... Ah! I can't believe I was ever that naive" said Riley

Most of the self-recriminations were real because she did see herself as stupid for believing him. She also thought she was for believing the time masters too and she had no doubt she was a horrible person, that was partially why she didn't want Rip to get any closer than he already was. He gave her a sad look and once again wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"No, no you're not. You were a child Miss Anderson and they used your naiveté against you. I'm so sorry Miss Anderson, please forgive me it was never my intention to hurt you. I should have never doubted you" said Rip

He was holding her tightly now, as if he feared she would break or something. Right now she wasn't sure if that was a possibility or not either.

"Shush, shush I've got you, it's okay I'm sorry okay. Please don't cry, you make me wish to weep also when you do that" said Rip

Someone cleared their throat behind them and Riley lifted her head enough to see who it was in the reflection off of his cabinet.

"What did you do?" said Sara

Rip sighed and drew back to address Sara.

"Miss Lance, a closed door usually implies a request for privacy" said Rip

He sounded irritated and Riley firmly resisted the urge to smirk because he sounded so cute when he said privacy with that accent of his.

"Well tough, league of assassins, now why is she crying?" said Sara

She crossed her arms and looked at Rip like she wanted to trounce the man. Rip moved away from Riley and she grabbed another tissue to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. While she did so, she pocketed the chip. She would get it back to him later with an easily defeat able program to disable Gideon, planted firmly over the corrupted data.

"We were simply discussing some rather sensitive items in Miss Anderson's past and obviously they still cause her emotional distress. Now please Miss Lance can you let us have a few more minutes of privacy and I promise you we will be out shortly. I have something I must discuss with all of you anyways" said Rip

Sara shifted looked at Riley, who simply nodded in her direction. The blond woman sighed and turned to leave.

"Five minutes, oh and captain, don't make her cry again" said Sara

The seriously cold way she said that made Riley shudder. Rip swallowed nervously, obviously understanding the threat beneath that statement. The door slid shut and Rip turned back to regard her as she dabbed at her eyes.

"I'm sorry Miss Anderson I should have asked you earlier if you minded being recorded. I upset you with my thoughtless behavior and for that I do apologize. If I had only heeded my instinct and turned off the recording, you would have never been put in danger in the first place" said Rip

She frowned until she understood what he was talking about.

"It's okay I understand, it's your ship you have the right to know what is going on inside it" said Riley

Rip pursed his lips.

"Yes I do, but I forget sometimes that others are not used to this behavior and may not be ready to share some things with me as of yet" said Rip

She gave him another confused look, until she remembered that she had asked Gideon about the recording before she went for a walk.

"It's okay, I suppose we should talk about it though sometime" said Riley

She really needed to know what the man meant by that kiss and what his intentions were farther down the road. Hopefully she could mitigate the damage some if she could get him to back off before he got too attached. She opened her mouth to say more and Rip put his finger on her lips.

"Stop please, I know I have you confused believe me I am as confused as you are Miss Anderson. All I can ask is that you forgive me for taking liberties when I should have gotten your consent first and ask that you bear with me as I sort this" said Rip

What she was going to say left her mind as she took in his anguished expression. He truly felt bad for confusing her and damn him it made him even more attractive in her eyes, that he was reacting this way. She simply nodded yes because she wasn't sure what sort of response she should give, plus she did just get back in the man's good graces.

He lowered his hand from her lips and rested it on her shoulder instead. He was staring at her again and she stared back at him, curious at what he could be thinking. He started to lean forward again and she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Please Rip don't, this isn't fair, to me or you. You have a family to think about, we're trying to save them remember. If we take this any further, we'll only succeed in hurting everyone involved. I can't be that person, please stop" said Riley.

Okay it was a low blow and her heart literally ached when she said it, but it would be worse for him if they succeeded, and she ceased to exist when they killed Savage. He looked down at the desktop.

"Riley, I think I need to make my intentions clear. We aren't going to succeed, I've tried over and over to save them. In every possible way imaginable and still I lose them. It's time I stopped deluding myself and accept that time wants this to happen, it wants me to... lose my family...but maybe it also sent you to me... maybe we are meant to be…please just… think about it. Do not reject me right off hand over some misguided notion that you are somehow helping me cheat on my wife" said Rip

She froze because she honestly didn't know what to say to that. Had the man had given up and moved on? Oh crap, now what was she going to do? She had to rekindle his faith but how?

"Yes, but I wasn't with you any of those times" said Riley

He smiled and shook his head no.

"Thank you Miss Anderson" said Rip

She gave him a confused look.

"You just showed me exactly what type of woman you are" said Rip

He just played her, the git just played me and he was smirking at her. Oh…you little… that is the last time I underestimate you Mr. Hunter.

"I get it, I'm scaring you. Okay I'll back off for now, if you want me to, but I just want you to know that I do want you Miss Anderson as more than a friend, I am however a very patient man and I do not intend to ever give up on you" said Rip

She swallowed nervously, because yeah he was right he was scaring her and so did his declaration. He knew something, now she knew he did and he had every intention of stopping her. She had half a mind to let him watch that tape because it would show him what a horrible person she was, maybe then he would see that she wasn't worth saving but her courage failed her and she simply nodded.

She resolved to run just as soon as she got the chance, she would kill Savage then book it away from these people. She didn't want to see his face as she dissolved or did whatever someone did when they ceased to exist.

"That's my girl, it'll be alright just trust me, can you do that?" said Rip He smiled at her and once again all she could do was respond with a nod of ascent. Oh she was so screwed.

"Thank you love" said Rip

Then he kissed her forehead and opened the door. He led her out of the room.

"Gideon can you call the others to the bridge, I have something I wish to discuss with them" said Rip

It took only a few minutes for the rest of the crew to filter into the bridge. During that time Riley tried to inch away from Rip, because she wasn't ready to deal with any questions the crew was sure to ask if Rip kept her right beside him the whole time.

When Kendra stepped between them she had never been so relieved to see the woman than she did right now. Rip's declaration had done nothing to calm the raging maelstrom that were her thoughts right now. If anything he had made her feel worse because, now there was no hope of keeping him from being hurt by this.

As much as she wanted to curl up by his side and forget the world would be literally coming to an end in her time period, she couldn't. It just wasn't in her to run. Okay maybe not from killing Savage but to be fair love was a hell of a lot more terrifying than the end of the world.

She should have never stepped foot on this ship, then she wouldn't have this dilemma to deal with in the first place. Once the whole group was gathered around the table Rip addressed the group.

"It has been brought to my attention by my former employers that Miss Anderson here has been less than forthcoming about her past" said Rip

Rory snorted.

"If you mean the pirate thing mate; she ain't the only one with a criminal background" said Rory

"Criminal background?" said Stein

"Yes it seems our esteemed Miss Anderson was once a time pirate" said Snart

He was smirking as if the idea was absurd.

"Oh that is absurd" said Stein

"You're kidding right, her a pirate, no offense Miss Anderson, but you don't strike me as the type" said Ray

Jax laughed

"They're joking right, please tell me this is their idea of humor because seriously that shit ain't funny" said Jax

"Well she did break that guy's legs down in sick bay, which by the way good job" said Sara

Riley nodded her thanks Kendra gave Sara an incredulous look.

"You all are joking right, she's maybe ninety pounds soaking wet and you think she's capable of breaking bones and being a blood thirsty pirate" said Kendra

"Yeah man I ain't buying it" said Jax

"Hey; I didn't either until I saw what she did to the kid, damn that's some jacked up shit, so sorry kind of believing it until proved otherwise" said Snart

He gave Riley a level look which she met without flinching

"Sorry babe, but there are just too many things that aren't adding up" said Snart

"Well Miss Anderson, do you care to comment?" said Rip

He looked amused and she hoped that was a good sign. Then again maybe it was because he did just admit he cared, hopefully that would be enough to keep him from throwing her off of the ship.

"Ah yeah, oh boy… okay. Yes, they are accurate about the time pirate thing and yeah I did break that guy's legs but only because he threatened to shoot me. It seems that my former…associates have thrown me under the bus as it were and have convinced Rip's former employers that I am some sort of criminal mastermind, which under any other circumstance would be quite humorous given the age I was at the time" said Riley

Everyone gave her surprised looks.

"What wait, you're saying it was true?" said Ray

Riley nodded yes. Once again, she went with the honesty in order to lead them away from any subject that she didn't want to touch on. "Wait what… how old were you?" said Kendra

"Ten to eleven I stayed with them to almost my twelfth birthday" said Riley

Everyone looked shocked including Rip. She guessed that Druce hadn't shared that information with the man.

"Why? If you don't mind me asking, would you stay with pirates?" said Stein

Riley shrugged

"They offered me a home when I didn't have one and food when I was starving, at the time that was enough for me" said Riley

Everyone looked upset by her admission.

It was true, even if Vandal Savage had held out a muffin to her back then she would have taken it.

"Wait so the guy downstairs how did you, without getting a mark on you?" said Sara

Riley frowned how exactly would she explain that?

"I took some martial arts when I was younger; one of the crew was well versed in several forms, he taught me after we worked out the language barrier" said Riley

Okay so yeah she did know how to fight and yes there was a guy on John's ship that did know several forms of martial arts so it wasn't exactly a lie.

"Language barrier?" said Sara

"He spoke Taiwanese or Chinese or something" said Riley

"You can fight?" said Kendra

Riley nodded yes.

"Oh yeah, just go ask that kid if you don't believe her, I carried the little shit back here" said Rory

"Ah yeah what's up with that since when are we a hospital for stupid time masters?" said Snart

Rip frowned at him but didn't argue with Snart's assessment

"That you would have to ask Miss Anderson about" said Rip

Riley sighed and rubbed her head.

"I felt bad after I hurt him and I had heard wolves earlier so I thought it best that we at least get the man out of there so he didn't get eaten by something, plus Puce couldn't move him" said Riley

Rory laughed at the moniker.

"So it was mercy than?" said Stein

Riley nodded yes.

"Now that we have established that they were indeed giving us some accurate information, I must mention what else they said. Master Druce told me that if I surrendered Miss Anderson to their authority and give up this quest, that we would be pardoned and subsequently returned to our proper timelines" said Rip

The way he phrased it sounded almost sarcastic when he said it.

"Yeah that sounds all well and good for us, but what would they do to her?" said Jax

Rip froze and she briefly saw the amusement leave his eyes.

"Most likely kill her I would imagine" said Rip

"Oh hell no! you told them to stuff it right?" said Kendra

"They plan to kill us" said Ray, Rory, Snart and Stein all at the same time.


	11. Chapter 11

Wave 11

There was stunned silence for a few minutes as both geniuses realized that they had agreed with the two criminals in their midst in stereo. Ray broke the silence with a confused sounding "Okay?" said Ray

"They're right that reaction makes the most sense" said Sara

Riley nodded in agreement because her and Rory had already come to that conclusion back at the lake. Rip looked shocked by their reaction

"Now wait just a minute, they would at least give us a fair trial. They aren't monsters" said Rip

Jax snorted in response

"Then why'd they hire a bounty hunter that seems to have no problem using live rounds?" said Jax

Riley watched as the entire group tried to disabuse Rip of the notion that his former bosses wouldn't hurt them. The man seemed to be naively clinging to his past with them and ignoring all the horrible things the Time masters did. While she was fairly certain the time masters saw themselves as the good guys, Riley had seen and heard some things that made her question that even as a child. They had to make the man see them for what they were or he was liable to walk into a trap.

"I use live rounds that doesn't mean anything" said Rip

"So what are you really asking us here Rip?" said Snart

He glanced briefly in Riley's direction and she knew he caught her biting her lip in worry. Okay, so she was just a little concerned they would take the offer and turn her in to the time masters.

While she doubted they would kill her, long term imprisonment was not out of the question. In all honesty if she had to escape from the vanishing point she knew she could but that would involve some hefty carnage.

She would rather avoid that if she could, besides knowing her luck, she would get free then find out later that they had sent Rip after her. That was something she definitely wanted to avoid and the sure fire way to do so, was to keep Rip and crew on her side.

Rip was looking at the table and seemed unwilling to look up at them.

"What I want to know is do you want to take this offer and just go home or….."said Rip

"No, we already answered that we're in for the long haul, unless you are giving up but Miss Anderson is going nowhere near those assholes" said Ray

"Well I for one vote that we tell these assholes to stuff it" said Sara

Kendra nodded yes.

"I agree, Riley is one of us now and I for one am not willing to throw her under the bus as she put it, just to save our skins" said Kendra

"Oh hell no, you were seriously considering this? Even knowing what they might do to her? No wonder she went for a walk man, it was probably to keep from hitting you and for the record my vote is Hell No! she ain't going anywhere" said Jax

Martin was cleaning his glasses while he waited for Jax to say his peace.

"I am afraid I must heartily concur with my counterpart, despite joining us after the fact, Miss Anderson has earned her place on this team and it would be very bad form to force her to acquiescence without her consent" said Stein

Jax, Sara and Rory all gave him confused looks.

"In other words she stays and I would be inclined to harm anyone who tries to force her to do otherwise" said Stein

"Me too she may not look like much but the girls got moxi and I like that" said Rory

The others looked to Snart.

"Neither does plastique, but we know what damage that can do, girls part of my crew and I do not sell out my crew, especially not to the fuzz" said Snart

He looked Riley up and down

"Besides, I'm kinda liking all these surprises with her, kinda want to see what else she's got tucked away" said Snart

Rip took a deep breath.

"Well there you have it; a nice show of solidarity for Miss Anderson, bravo good show my dear, but there is still the fact that you lied to us about your origins" said Rip

Kendra snorted and the rest of them gave Rip level looks

"So did you and we ain't turned your ass in yet" said Jax

Rip nodded in acceptance.

" Right O, too true, so I did. So am I correct in assuming that the response to their offer will be in the negative?" said Rip

"Damn straight it is" said Sara

She put her arm around Riley.

"Very well, I will inform them just as soon as Mr. Killian can leave" said Rip

He started to step away from the table but Sara grabbed his arm.

"All right out with it, because we all know you're up to something" said Sara

Riley simply stood there and watched the interaction.

"Yeah man, what gives? You were seriously into her one minute and now you want to sell her out, what the hell" said Jax

Rip groaned and tried to retrieve his arm from Sara's grip and failed.

"Contrary to everyone's perceptions; the last thing I want to do is sell Miss Anderson out, to anyone, for any reason. I was simply showing her that she has friends here and that we will let nothing harm her" said Rip

She gave him a strange look, just what was the man up to? The rest of the group was nodding in agreement and instead of making her feel safe and secure, it made her feel like the lowest form of life. Here all of her new friends were pledging their support and she was planning to betray that trust and off herself. She was such a loser.

She wiped at her eyes, not because they were all outpouring their support but, because she was about to betray all of that in the most heinous way imaginable.

She had to get away from them before she broke down and confessed everything right then and there. She swallowed and quietly made her way to the door.

"Are you all right Miss Anderson?" said Rip

She turned to look at him and the man was wearing a satisfied smirk on his face, like he was happy with her reaction. She nodded yes because she didn't trust her voice and stumbled out of the room. She heard Sara ask if one of them should go after her and Rory's reply of

"give her time" before she made her way down to the med bay.

The kid was awake and trying to get out of the bed.

"What are you doing?" said Riley

The man jumped because either he didn't hear her enter the room or felt guilty for some reason.

"I was going to go have a word with your captain" said Niles

She shook her head, kid sure was a stubborn one.

"Why?" said Riley

She knew why of course but the kid was amusing her at the moment.

"Someone on this damn ship has to see reason and help me save you" said Niles

Riley smirked the kid had given her the perfect opening.

"You still want to save me?" said Riley

The kid gave her a wary look and she grinned even wider. Boy was starting to learn, good for him.

"Yeah, it's my job. I can't let…."said Niles

She cut him off because she never reacted well to being told what she can and can't do.

"Relax Niles, I've decided to let you help me" said Riley

The kid gave her a confused look and she almost laughed at how easy the kid was to manipulate.

"I need you to do something for me" said Riley

The kid opened his mouth to protest, that he wouldn't help her do herself harm and she held up her hand. So far the others were still either up in the bridge or leaving the ship. She assumed the two leaving were Ray and Snart, most likely to spy on that Vostok woman.

"I need you to help secure my timeline but you can't let anyone else know you're doing it, as soon as you graduate and they give you a ship, go here and break Mr. Hunter out before they execute him, can you do that?" said Riley

She handed him a slip of paper and he tucked it into his shirt pocket, the kid nodded yes

"But why would I do that, Mr. Hunter is….."said Niles

He suddenly stopped and was looking directly behind her.

"Is what? Mr. Killian do go on, I am very interested in hearing whatever it was you were about to say" said Rip

Riley turned and found Rip leaning on the doorframe glaring at the boy.

"Sir I…." said Niles

The boy seemed to have suddenly lost his voice. Rip pushed himself off the wall and walked toward the bed. He looked irritated and was glaring daggers at the boy.

"Gideon how soon can I have Mr. Killian off my ship?" said Rip "In a few hours sir the bones should be knit well enough that he can leave under his own power" said Gideon

The AI sounded relieved as well and Riley briefly wondered just how much emotion Cisco put into the design.

"Rip what are you…."said Riley

"No, the better question Miss Anderson would be what are you doing down here with the man that tried to kill you just a few hours earlier?" said Rip

Riley hesitated just how was she supposed to answer that?

"I was just checking on him" said Riley and having a private conversation that you interrupted she added mentally.

Rip sighed and gave her an exasperated look before he moved her away from Niles, so he was between them. Riley mentally groaned, now how was she supposed to finish giving the boy instructions?

"Miss Anderson, we have had this conversation before and I believe you promised that you would be more careful" said Rip she gave him a level look.

"Yeah but the kid's not exactly dangerous right now" said Riley Rip sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he were fighting off a headache.

"Miss Anderson, I am only going to say this once so you best get it the first time, all time masters are dangerous, no matter their age or physical condition now out. I do not want you down here again is that clear?" said Rip

"Sir I wouldn't…."said Niles

"Shut it kid, I'm not done yet. Let me make myself completely clear to you, I do not want you on my ship. I do not like you and the only reason you are not wolf chow right now is Miss Anderson's generous nature, got it?" said Rip

She opened her mouth to protest because he was slowly forcing her back towards the door.

"Gideon Miss Anderson is denied access to the sickbay unless she is injured…grievously so" said Rip

She mentally groaned again, because there went the loophole she had been about to exploit.

"Yes captain" said Gideon

She was now on the other side of the doorframe even if she didn't want to be there.

"Rip…"said Riley

But her protest was cut off when he suddenly kissed her again. "Forgive me, but if you will not see to your own safety then I will take steps to insure it myself, I will see you upstairs" said Rip

Then the door closed on her face. Shocked, she reached for the handle and instead of flashing green and opening. The handle sensor flashed red and remained stubbornly closed.

She wanted to scream in frustration but Rip was sure to hear it and wonder at its source, so she simply turned and walked upstairs. As she walked she mentally recited the information she had been intending to give to Niles, hopefully with a little prompting her older self would deliver the message to the older version of Niles and he could carry out her orders. She would however need to make sure the files were coded with a high security code that only Niles and her had the key to, so the rest of the council didn't know she was deliberately creating a paradox.

She hated to have to do this but it was a necessary part of her timeline.

Rip turned back to the kid, who was just sitting there watching. "Now, about that statement" said Rip

The kid swallowed because Rip looked anything but friendly right now. Niles was no longer certain he could get this man to see reason, at least not where Miss Anders was concerned. "Captain, sir I…meant no disrespect…I…"said Niles

Rip stopped next to the bed.

"I don't care what you meant, you held someone I care about at gun point and had every intention of shooting her" said Rip

He dropped the kid's empty gun on his lap.

"I took the moment to retrieve that and peruse the setting, it wasn't on stun" said Rip

The kid looked shocked and upset.

"Sir, I would have never… I went to the academy with her…she was my only friend…or will be…man this part is confusing, how do you ever keep it sorted?" said Niles

Rip gave the young man a considering look.

"You went to the academy, with Miss Anderson? The time master academy at the vanishing point?" said Rip

The kid shook his head no.

"No sir, the one at the haven point, we were part of the first class until Master Druce came and got me. He said he had a problem that only I could solve." said Niles

Rip's mouth dropped open in shock, no way she couldn't be. could she?

"Gideon look up photos of the original founding class of the time masters and then cross reference them with photos of Miss Anderson please" said Rip

"Yes Captain" said Gideon

Riley was so glad she had erased all the files they had on her because she was certain that kid would tell Rip everything and it didn't help that he looked vaguely familiar.

"Captain, there are no photos of the founding class or any other class of time master's including your own class sir" said Gideon Rip hesitated for a moment.

"Is it a glitch?" said Rip

"Doubtful" said Niles

Rip glared at him and the boy quickly shut his mouth.

"No sir the files appear to be encrypted and I lack the key to decipher them or the necessary clearance" said Gideon

Rip rubbed his hand down his face.

"Who does have the necessary clearance?" said Rip

"A member of the high council, though I would still need the key and the person who encrypted it in the first place sir" said Gideon

"I suppose there is no way of telling who encrypted it in the first place is there?" said Rip

"Actually sir there is the signature appears to match Master Druce's codes" said Gideon

Rip frowned then he remembered the jump drive Druce had given him.

"We may not be able to get into those files, but I can think of another source for that information"said Rip, with that he walked out of the sick bay

The first thing Riley noticed when she entered the bridge was that it was deserted, she spotted a laptop sitting on Rip's desk and liberated it, then she retreated to her room. She didn't know how long Rip would be talking to Niles for, so she had to make this fast.

She quickly locked the door, overrode Gideon's ability to record in her room with a camera loop that made it look like she intended to take a nap. Then fired up the laptop quickly hacked Rip's password, seriously his kid's name was an easy password to guess. She inserted the chip, overrode the base level encryption they put on the files to keep anyone but Rip out of it and started rewriting the files.

It took her about twenty minutes to erase damn near everything, change it to something that matched what she had confessed to already and then cover everything with a virus that would temporarily disable Gideon and activate a transponder, that once Gideon was restored she would quickly notice and most likely inform Mr. Hunter of.

She even added that eventually she became a time master because she was sure Mr. Hunter would think he was successful in recruiting her and Niles was sure to spill anyways.

She ejected the drive shoved it in her pocket, shut down the laptop and made her way back to his den. She had just returned the drive to his desk drawer and the laptop to its former position when Rip walked into the room.

"Find anything interesting?" said Rip


	12. Chapter 12

Wave 12

She froze where she was, damn that man had horrible timing but maybe she could use his sudden appearance to her advantage. She quickly acted flustered and guilty. The blush creeping up her face she didn't have to feign because truthfully she was embarrassed about being caught. She should have been paying better attention to her surroundings and she really needed to start doing so before someone more dangerous than Rip approached her.

Rip entered the office and crossed to her.

"Well? Cat got your tongue Miss Anderson?" said Rip

He rested his hand on top of the laptop and she mentally cursed herself for being so foolish. The man was sure to notice the device was warm. He took a deep breath and held out his hand.

"Give it to me" said Rip

She swallowed, because once again he sounded pissed off.

"I put it back in the drawer" said Riley

He slid open the drawer and retrieved the drive, which Riley was pretty certain was also warm as well. He glared at her and shoved the drive into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"I'm sorry I was just…." said Riley

"Just what, Miss Anderson? Am a thief or a spy?" said Rip

She shook her head no, there was no way she wanted Rip to think she worked for the time masters.

"Curious... I ...I… just wanted to know, what it was that they think I do... I'm sorry. I know… I shouldn't have looked, but I couldn't resist" said Riley

Okay yeah she did look and she really was curious, but she also knew all of that stuff already, because she had snuck a peak when she rode with Druce that first time. Rip sighed and looked at the desk.

"How much of it did you see?" said Rip

Riley decided to be honest with him for some reason.

"All of it" said Riley

Rip groaned and looked briefly like he had been slapped. He closed his eyes as if the knowledge caused him pain.

"All… oh …Miss Anderson no one is meant to know that…oh sweet… even the end?" said Rip

She nodded yes, because yeah she did know how she was meant to meet her end, fortunately it was after a very long time. The only decent part she inherited from the asshole that sired her was his lifespan. The look Rip was giving her was nothing short of horrified.

"Oh sweetheart" said Rip

Ray and Snart chose that moment to return home. They were laughing and ribbing each other just like old chums. Rip sighed and turned to talk to them and Riley quietly withdrew from the room. The last thing she wanted was to discuss her timeline or what a bad thing it was to know too much about her future, besides isn't that what they were doing here, trying to change future events.

Riley wandered down the hall and found Mick playing with matches in the hall or rather watching one after the other burn down.

"What are you doing?" said Riley

"Isn't it beautiful?" said Mick

She had to admit, even if it wasn't her element it was beautiful.

"Yeah, why?" said Riley

Mick looked up at her and smiled.

"Heard what you did, wasn't too smart sweetheart. Rip's not gonna let that pass you know. Curiosity can be a bad thing; like this it can also burn Ya" said Mick

She nodded in understanding it was obvious the big guy was worried about her.

"Yeah, yeah It can, pretty sure that's earned its spot on the list" said Riley

"What list?" said Mick

"The list I'm compiling in my head of the dumbest things I've ever done" said Riley

The big man snorted in response and nodded.

"Good, now get scarce, our good captain is looking for you" said Mick

Riley nodded and quickly made her way down the hall and into a cargo hold. Sara was trying to convince Kendra into training with her but Kendra wasn't having it.

"Alejandro Vasquez" said Riley

"Who?" said both women

"That's the name of that guard you clawed the face off of, the same guy who is more than likely going to lose sight in one of his eyes because your claws hit it" said Riley

Kendra looked down with a guilty look on her face.

Sara gave her a considering look but let Riley take the lead on this one. "I'm not a warrior, I'm a barista" said Kendra

Riley chuckled

"Really? I've never seen you even pour a cup of coffee since I've been on board, you?" said Riley

She looked at Sara, the woman shook her head no. Kendra made this exasperated sound.

"I meant I was a barista, not some avenging winged goddess" said Kendra

"Exactly was a barista, was being the operative word, you're not that person anymore none of us are the people we were before we set foot on this ship" said Sara

Riley nodded, the woman was right something had changed in her and she wasn't sure if it was a good thing, because now she actually felt guilty about what she was planning. The last thing she needed was a conscience.

"That doesn't matter before Carter I…I knew what I wanted to do with my life…now" said Kendra

"Now you're adrift because you were using Carter as your anchor, you need to find something within you to anchor on" said Riley

Kendra frowned at her.

"Huh?" said Kendra

"You relied on Carter to keep her in check and never really learned how to do so yourself" said Riley

Sara gave her a considering look.

"What do you know about keeping a monster inside yourself in check?" said Kendra

Riley opened her mouth to reply but Sara beat her to it.

"When the Lazarus pit first brought me back I retreated into myself and let that demon it put inside me take over. It hurt people, people I care about but I couldn't stop it because I was too afraid of it to try" said Sara

Kendra was just staring at Sara but she appeared to be listening.

"She's a part of you now and no matter what you think you are, that is not going to change" said Riley

Sara nodded

"She's right you have to learn to control her or the next time she goes off could be on someone you love, it's okay to be afraid just don't let it rule you" said Sara

"How? How do I do that?" said Kendra

Sara threw the boo she was holding at Kendra

"You train" said Sara

Riley smirked and started to leave the room.

"Oh you're not done yet; I have some questions you're going to answer" said Sara

She had a hold of Riley's arm.

"Actually, I think we all need to hear the answers to those questions" said Ray

The others were behind him and Riley let out a groan. Oh great this was just wonderful. Riley turned to look at Sara.

"So shoot" said Riley

Then she immediately thought better on her choice of words when Sara smirked at her.

"Yeah I think we deserve some answers because I for one don't believe you're from the nineteen seventies" said Jax

"I most heartily concur Mr. Jackson, where did you learn to not only use a laptop but to hack into one before computers were even invented yet?" said Rip

"Hell, I don't even believe you were even a college student" said Ray "What I want to know is how you got me off of that guy in the pentagon, it felt like something hit me in the chest but I didn't see anything" said Kendra

"Yeah some things just aren't adding up sweetness, like how you knew what a selfie was before cell phones were invented" said Rory

"Yes, I did miss that one didn't I?" said Rip

Riley looked around at the assembled group and wondered just how far she could go without admitting to everything.

"Better start talking sweetheart or things are going to get ugly" said Snart

He had his gun raised in her direction. Riley wondered briefly if she still had it in her to hurt them and if she could take them out if she had to. She quickly vetoed that plan because that would defeat the purpose of traveling with these people in the first place. She held up her hands in surrender because the last thing she wanted to do was appear threatening to this group, well until she actually needed to threaten them that was.

"Okay, lot of questions there, where to start" said Riley

Snart flipped off the safety and raised the weapon.

"You all know about the pirate thing so you all don't think it's plausible that I learned something from all those jaunts into the future?" said Riley

She sounded sarcastic but the others grudgingly accepted that explanation for her ability to use future technology. Which left only the question Kendra asked and Ray's question. She decided to go with Ray's.

"I was a college student for a little over a year, had to be in order to be a research assistant" said Riley

"You were waiting for us" said Snart

She nodded yes. Noting that everyone in the room now had weapons either pointed at her, were standing next to their counter parts or were reaching for weapons.

"Yeah but not for the reason you all are thinking" said Riley

"Very well Miss Anderson do enlighten us, why are you really here?" said Rip

She turned to look at the man and froze. He had his gun out and it was pointed in her direction, she absently noted the color was indicating that it was not on stun. That shocked her for a moment and she lost focus for a few seconds.

"To kill Savage the same as you" said Riley

The others gave her indecipherable looks.

"Why, what did he do to you?" said Ray

Riley swallowed back the tears that were starting to rise in her eyes. Damn him why did he have to ask that? She swallowed because she now had a case of dry mouth. Everyone was waiting for her answer and not a single one of them looked the least understanding about it.

"He orphaned me, thrice" said Riley

Several of the others lowered their hands away from the weapons they had been reaching for and a few of the firearms lowered. The majority of them looked stunned by the admission

"Shit!" said Rory

He lowered his weapon completely

"So you wanted revenge is that it?" said Sara

Riley nodded yes because essentially Sara was right.

"I tried on my own and failed, I thought with a group…." said Riley

"That you would succeed" said Rip

"Was it just your parents?" said Jax

Riley shook her head no.

"No he killed everyone, even my babysitter" said Riley

It wasn't a lie; he did kill everyone.

She heard Rip shove his firearm back into the holster with a muttered curse.

"Oh Miss Anderson, I'm so sorry please forgive me err us, for the distrust we've shown you this evening. We simply had our misgivings you can understand can't you?" said Rip

She nodded yes.

"That why you can't sleep most nights?" said Jax

Riley nodded yes.

"Why, what do you see?" said Ray

It was an innocent question and honestly she did expect Ray to say something like that. She did nothing to hide the wince the question invoked however.

"Ghosts and memories that have gone from pleasant, to just another cruel reminder" said Riley

The group was silent for a few minutes as they took in what she said and struggled to find a way to respond to it.

"Why didn't you say anything?" said Kendra

Sara had released her arm and stepped back some. They were all giving her looks that could only be described as pity.

"The look on all your faces right now" said Riley

Then she walked out of the room. She practically ran down the hall until she realized how futile an action that would be, because on a ship this small there was nowhere to go. She didn't dare go outside with Druce running around, which left her trapped on this ship with a bunch of people who were likely to treat her differently now.

She stopped to get her bearings because despite its size you could still get lost on the Wave Rider, mostly because all the hallways looked exactly the same. She groaned when she didn't recognize anything.

"Gideon where am I?" said Riley

"You are near the engine room Miss Anderson if you would like I can guide you back to the others, they are most concerned about your welfare" said Gideon

Riley shook her head no, now that she knew where she was, it was easy to pick the direction she wished to go in. She turned and walked down the right hallway climbed some stairs and stopped in front of some door. She looked through the small window and noted she was outside the jump ship. Perfect no one would think to look for her here. She opened the door and walked inside of the smaller ship.

"Miss Anderson what are you doing?" said Gideon

Riley flopped down in the pilot's seat but made no move to touch any of the controls.

"Hiding, because I wish to be alone for a while Gideon, now kindly leave me be for a while" said Riley

The AI didn't say anything in response so Riley leaned back in her chair. Tears were leaking out of her eyes and she silently cursed her new friends, because she never used to cry this easily, unless she was acting.

She fought them for a little while but the growing ache was just too much and eventually she gave into the tears, pulled her legs up and buried her face in her thighs. She let loose and simply sobbed until she eventually fell asleep in that position.

Rip and the guys retreated to the bridge to discuss Vostok while the girls went back to their training.

"Man, I feel horrible now" said Ray

"You and me both hair" said Snart

"Three times…fuck that's some messed up shit… man I want to kill that fucker, then go back and do it again" said Rory

"I might be inclined to aid you in that endeavor" said Stein

"Man, I thought your family was bad but that's some twisted shit, damn I feel lower than dirt now "said Jax

"As do I Mr. Jackson but for much more than Miss Andersons' tragic past. I regrettably thought ill of the young lady and all but accused her of being a spy, actions I thoroughly despise myself for" said Rip

Kendra hit the ground with a reverberating thud and Sara closed. Kendra rolled out from under her attack just in the nick of time.

"Three times" said Kendra

Sara gave her a sad look.

"I know I just lost Carter, but I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose my family three times" said Kendra

Sara placed the boo in a resting pose, and decided to acknowledge the conversation.

"Me either, I don't know what I would have done if I lost my dad and Laurel at a young age, then to lose a second chance at happiness with whatever foster family she ended up with, only to lose them too and again with the next group. I honestly can't see how she is still standing" said Sara

Kendra nodded in understanding.

"Me either, hey do you think that's what she meant about my anchor being Carter?" said Kendra

Sara nodded

"More than likely and I would be willing to bet killing Savage is hers" said Sara

"Yeah but what is she planning to do afterwards?" said Kendra

Sara shrugged and returned the boo to a fighting stance, Kendra did the same with hers.

"I don't know and that's what's got me worried" said Sara

"Hey do you think if she trained with us it would help her?" said Kendra

Sara glared at the woman because she was having enough issues trying to train one student, she really didn't want to handle two.

"She said she knew how to fight and I for one am curious about what she knows, so yeah we could offer, the worst she can say is no" said Sara

Rip walked onto the bridge first, the others were uncharacteristically quite behind him. He stopped at the table.

"So what did you guys find out from Vostok?" said Jax

"Not much, except she doesn't appear to be into pretty boys and is colder than most Russians, I did however liberate this" said Snart

He held up some sort of keycard.

"Very good Mr. Snart, I will need you, Martin and Mick to go to the lab and find out what Miss Vostok is working on" said Rip

"What will you be doing captain?" said Ray

Rip sighed and looked at the tabletop as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"I… will be attempting to get back in Miss Anderson's good graces, speaking of which, Gideon locate Miss Anderson for me" said Rip

The AI hesitated.

"She is in the jump ship sir and appears to be weeping, shall I inform her that her presence is requested?" said Gideon

"She's crying?" said Jax

Rip reached for a button on the table and Riley's image appeared on the table.

"It appears so Mr. Jackson" said Rip


	13. Chapter 13

Wave 13

Rip stared at the image on the screen. Riley looked so small, so vulnerable and so totally dejected that it broke his heart. "You've got your work cut out for you man" said Jax

"Yeah, I know" said Rip

"Captain? Master Druce is on line one" said Gideon

Rip groaned and switched on the audio so he could answer the call.

"Well? Have you come to a decision yet?" said Druce

"As a matter of fact we have, we will be contacting you with the coordinates shortly" said Rip

"How is my protégé?" said Druce

Irritation passed through Rip when he mentioned the boy. He had an irrational need to keep the young man as far from Riley as he could and he was pretty sure it was jealousy.

"He should be completed shortly. I will make arrangements as soon as he is ready" said Rip

He didn't give the older man time to reply and simply shut down the line. The others were staring at him.

"You're planning something" said Snart

"Aye that I am, but I am not sure she will trust me to do this" said Rip

He was staring at the girl on the screen.

"Why, what are you planning to do?" said Ray

Rip sighed and looked up at the men surrounding the table.

"I plan to fake out Master Druce by using Miss Anderson as bait" said Rip

"Oh, that's not going to end well" said Rory

"You're gonna end up getting punched again" said Jax

Rip gazed sadly down at the screen

"I'd gladly let her beat me senseless, if it meant I never have to see her like that again" said Rip

Snart snorted and shook his head. Stein was staring at the captain.

"Man you've got it bad" said Ray

"Aye I do, I will freely admit that, I never thought I could feel this way for someone since I lost Miranda, it seems fate is intent on proving me wrong" said Rip

"Dude please don't wax poetical on us or something" said Jax "Rest assured Mr. Jackson, I will not" said Rip

"We should do this first then" said Stein

Rip nodded in response

"Very well, I will inform Miss Anderson and the boy, can't wait to get that child off my ship as it is" said Rip

Rory snorted

"Feel you there" said Rory

"What do you want us to do?" said Jax

"You three are going to leave the ship and meet us here" said Rip

He gave stein a piece of paper, the man read it over and nodded.

"I do not want him to know you are there until the last minute and gentlemen under no circumstances is Druce allowed to leave with Miss Anderson" said Rip

"And the rest of us?" said Ray

"The rest of you will be protecting this ship, knowing Druce he didn't come alone, which means he will be waiting for me to leave so he can take my ship" said Rip

"I'll let the girls know, just as soon as you two leave" said Ray "Yeah cause Sara ain't gonna like this plan" said Snart.

"Yeah, no kidding" said Jax.

Rip swallowed nervously, they were right Sara was sure to be upset with him should this go badly. The others made their way out of the room leaving Rip there. He took a deep breath and told himself over and over that he would make this up to her. First he checked on the boy, according to Gideon the kid was healed.

"Be ready to leave" said Rip

"Captain have you reviewed the footage?" said Niles

Rip glared at the boy and walked out of the room.

"Just be ready" said Rip curtly

He was angry as he strode down the hall. If not for that boy he would have never questioned her in the first place and it made him feel guilty for doing so.

He was about to do something infinitely worse to her and had no idea if she would forgive him afterwards. He strode down the hall and stopped in front of the door to the jump ship, took a deep breath and opened the door.

He expected tears or something, instead he was met with silence. He moved closer to the young woman curled in the fetal position on a chair and noticed for the first time she was sleeping. He hesitated and briefly rethought his plan, then vetoed his misgivings. This had to look authentic which means she had to look betrayed.

He pulled the binders out of his pocket then deftly fastened them on her wrists. This was going to break his heart as much as it would hers. She woke with a start, looking from him to the binders now on her wrists in confusion.

"Rip what are you…?" said Riley

The confusion on her face was quite plain as was the fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Miss Anderson, I talked to Druce and he provided me with the accurate version of what you altered, I'm turning you over to him" said Rip

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"But you said yourself that they might kill me" said Riley

Rip looked down at the floor, the fear in her eyes was threatening to shake his resolve.

"I know and I am truly sorry for that but I cannot risk the timeline for your sake. We will of course continue on and kill Vandal Savage for you, as well as my family. When they try you I will of course speak on your behalf." said Rip

She just stared at him in shock because he sounded just like all the other time masters and it was seriously freaking her out. Was he really betraying her? The cold look on his face looked authentic.

"You're serious? What about all that talk earlier about me being part of the team?" said Riley

He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"We discussed it and in light of your confession decided the best course of action was to mitigate as much damage as possible. Please Miss Anderson, do not make this more difficult than it has to be" said Rip

He had his hand on the stunner in his pocket just in case, but prayed she wouldn't force him to use it. So far she appeared stunned already and then he watched as the tears sprang to her eyes once again.

"So it was all a lie then?" said Riley

He nodded because he couldn't bring himself to say the words. It made him feel horrible and he struggled to remain calm shoving his emotions to the back of his mind and treating her just like any other bounty. It was the most difficult thing he had ever done.

He never even saw her move as he hit the ground with a thud. Pain blossomed up his side and he could swear he felt a rib crack as the breath was forced from his lungs. Unfortunately, he was still in the jump ship, so she darted past him and into the Wave Rider's hallway.

She slammed her hand down on the locking mechanism and dashed away from the door. She had no doubt Gideon would release him shortly so she headed for the exit. The door refused to open on the first try, so she quickly overrode the lock and dashed outside. She was halfway down the ramp when something hit her and knocked the wind out of her.

She was left gasping on the deck because whatever just hit her hurt like a son of a bitch. She heard Rip's boots on the ramp and decided to play docile for a while, perhaps if he thought she was cowed he would let his guard down.

"Sorry sir, but she was going to escape" said Niles

Riley groaned she should have known better than to trust any time master, even the ones she had once considered friends.

Rip sighed and leaned down to check on her. She could tell by the way he was moving that his ribs pained him, which meant she had hit him hard enough to at least bruise them.

"I know Mr. Killian, thank you. I'll take it from here" said Rip

"Are you certain, I could help you carry her?" said Niles

Rip rolled his eyes at the offer.

"I am sure I can manage" said Rip

He turned towards the younger man and Riley deftly removed the knife from his boot and hid it on her person.

"Come along Miss Anderson, enough games, I still have a madman to catch" said Rip

He pulled her to her feet and she pretended to be groggy from the stun beam, in reality it had already worn off. She just didn't want him to know that just yet. He held tightly to her arm and guided her down the ramp.

"You will have to be cleverer than that to slip free of me Miss Anderson, now come on let's get this over with" said Rip

She snorted and briefly thought about burying that blade she just liberated someplace very intimate on Mr. Hunter's anatomy.

"Why so you can get back to betraying the next member on your team or are you planning to do that right now?" said Riley "Miss Anderson let me make one thing quite plain to you, you are not part of my team. You are an interloper, who has attached herself to us under false pretenses, which I am now remedying" said Rip

He was mentally wincing at his harsh tones and felt completely guilty that he even had to do this, but he had to know if they were right and truthfully he did have his misgivings about the girl. He stunned her to silence with his harsh words.

"I am surprised you are not begging" said Rip

Yes, he was chiding her just a little bit, in the hopes of getting some sort of reaction, but her silence was unnerving him. She snorted at his comment

"I am familiar enough with your reputation to know how futile that would be" said Riley

That stunned him to silence, she had looked him up somehow. So he had lied then, everything had just been a game to him. She was willing to bet he had been lying about his feelings too.

She remained stubbornly silent for the rest of the walk because she was trying to force away the tears, he had brought to her eyes and pick the lock on her manacles.

He had hurt her and she wasn't willing to let him see that. The things had refused to open with an imputed command code which meant he had used some sort of pass code, with eight letters or numbers available it could be anything, which was why she cut herself and was using her own blood to open the locking mechanism from the inside.

So far the lock proved stubborn but it allowed her to focus on anything other than the man walking at her side. They entered the trees and Rip walked to damn near the cliffs before he stopped. She could feel the river below it and reasoned it could be a possible escape route. Master Druce appeared a few minutes later and Riley could feel he wasn't alone.

"I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you, Hunter" said Druce

"You were right as always, I've risked the lives of my team, endangered the very fabric of time, I can only hope you can forgive me" said Rip

So that was what it was about, he had plans to go back after this was all over. What a selfish git.

Killian was with them, so it meant Chronos was here also. Riley debated on informing Rip, then vetoed it. If he died from this, the asshole deserved it for betraying her.

"I am so thankful you finally saw reason, Miss Anders how are you this fine evening?" said Druce

She raised a single finger in his direction and he chuckled. He motioned for Niles to bring her forward, but Rip grabbed her arm stopping the boy from doing so.

"I want your word, that she'll be given a fair trial" said Rip

That stunned Riley for a few minutes because she expected him to just wash his hands of her after the way he had talked to her earlier. Druce hesitated for a second before nodding yes to the statement.

"You have my word that no harm will ever come to Miss Anders, unfortunately the same cannot be said of you. I am sorry it had to turn out this way Rip, but the council has deemed you too dangerous to allow you to live" said Druce

At that time Chronos stepped out from behind a copse of trees and put a gun to the back of Rip's head. Druce motioned for Killian to grab the girl and Riley reluctantly let herself be led forward. Rip closed his eyes in anguish, because he just realized his team had been right and he was certain had just led Riley to her death. Killian stopped next to Druce and the elder man turned to leave.

"Can't believe you brought this stooge to do your dirty work, I've never had you pegged for a coward Druce" said Rip

"ln that case, I promise to stay and watch just to make sure your punishment is carried out properly" said Druce

Riley was watching Rip and Chronos. At first she debated just letting the man die but that would deny her the satisfaction of beating the crap out of him herself. Niles moved her slightly back.

"You do not want to watch this" said Niles

Druce snorted and turned to look at Riley. She crossed her arms and glared at Rip

"Actually I believe she does, don't worry he'll pay for his betrayal in just a second, poor little Hunter going to die all alone in the woods with only the friend he betrayed looking on" said Druce

Riley made the decision right then, she may be pissed at the man but there was no way she was letting Druce and his team claim this victory.

"Speaking of team my men should have your ship breached by now, don't worry your friends will be joining you shortly in the afterlife, do say hello to Miranda and Jonas for me" said Druce

Oh, that was a low blow, completely bogue man just completely bogue. The stricken look on Rip's face sent fury straight through her. Riley quickly pulled water from the surrounding trees and blocked the shot just as Chronos fired, at the same time she flicked the cuffs she had been wearing off of her and onto Niles.

Then drew her knife and once again stabbed Druce in the thigh. The boy reached for a weapon realized he was tied, as well as unarmed and groaned. The elder time master screamed and went down, just as firestorm blasted Chronos away from Rip. She raised her knife again, intent on murdering the bastard but Rip's hand on her arm stopped her.

Rory darted past her and fired his gun at Druce. Both Druce and Niles promptly vanished right before the blast hit them. Chronos however was climbing to his feet. He fired again and Riley forced the charge to dissipate, as she pulled Rip down and behind a tree. He started shooting back so Riley took cover herself.

Firestorm was behind a tree and so was Rory.

"Head back to the ship I'll cover you" said Jax

She snorted, as if she ever wanted to step foot on that vessel again. Rory charged from the side and Chronos turned in his direction tossing a grenade at the advancing man before ducking away.

Riley deflected the grenade back in Chrono's direction just as it exploded. Chronos flew backwards from the blast and hit a tree with a resounding crack. Riley debated just leaving them to fend for themselves and started to inch her way away from the group. Rip was following her however, so she didn't get far.

"Please allow me to explain" said Rip

She ignored him and moved away. Rip swore and started to follow her but Chronos was climbing to his feet. Jax broke free from cover and charged the bounty hunter flinging fireballs as he did so. Chronos lobbed another grenade but this time Riley was too slow to react and the damn thing exploded, Chronos went one direction and so did firestorm.

She silently cursed Rip for distracting her. A few seconds later Stein stumbled out from behind a tree, claiming that the blast had separated them. Chronos had crashed down by Riley so she approached him with knife drawn. Her friends were calling Jax's name. Chronos was down and it was time to take him out. She raised the knife and swiftly brought it down, he vanished and she stabbed the dirt.


	14. Chapter 14

Wave 14

Swearing she climbed to her feet, just as Jax stumbled out from behind some trees. She immediately felt that something was wrong and made her way towards the young man. She caught him as he stumbled forward and slowly lowered him to the ground. Stein was chiding him until he fell. He appeared to be passed out and Riley noticed the growing stain on the front of his shirt about the same time as the others.

"We need to get him to the med bay now" said Riley

The others didn't argue as Rory scooped up the younger man and they practically ran as a group back to the ship. Rip somehow ended up beside her and she silently cursed. She swore mentally, if he said one thing about her following them onto the ship she would blast Captain Hunter off the nearest cliff.

"Miss Anderson, I must speak with you" said Rip

She snorted and tried to ignore him. Jax was coming to so Rory set him down on the ramp and let him walk the rest of the way up it. The door slid open and both Snart and Ray were waiting.

"I take it you had no trouble?" said Rip

"Nothing we couldn't handle" said Snart

Jax hobbled in supported by Rory and Riley.

"What happened to him?" said Ray

"Chronos" said Rory

"Just take it easy don't try to rush it, let's get you to the med bay" said Rip

"Ah the med bay where a morphine drip awaits" said Rory

"Don't bother giving him any advice, he'll just do the opposite" said Stein

It was obvious the older man was exasperated by Jax's impetuous behavior.

"Professor now is really not the time" said Ray

He was trying to head off the argument that was currently brewing. "Oh yeah, it would be my fault I got hurt because I didn't listen to you in your infinite wisdom, I am sorry professor" said Jax

"Exactly, it seems this partnership of ours has become untenable" said Stein

"Partnership? No this is a dictatorship where you get to call all the shots and I get to take them" said Jax

Riley shifted slightly and gave the boy a worried look. Fortunately, she had been able to control blood flow to the wound and help mitigate the blood loss but the kid was by no means in the clear just yet.

"Do you think I actually like…." said Stein

"Oh don't act like you care, I'm just a life support system. I didn't even want to come on this stupid trip. You kidnapped me" said Jax

"Oh this old tune" said Stein

"Did you ever stop to think I had a life back in 2016?" said Jax

Riley just stood there listening to the two argue, she knew Jax didn't want to be here and that the professor had basically kidnapped him but she didn't know why the kid was so bent out of shape about it.

"Oh, I almost forgot a promising career as an auto mechanic" said Stein snidely.

"I had a mom...a widow. What happens to her if something happens to me in 1986? She's just going to think I left her without even saying goodbye, do you have any idea what that will do to her?" said Jax "We've all made sacrifices! But can't you see that this mission, stopping Savage is bigger than any one of us?" said Stein

"I am so sick of you using that tone, when are you going to learn that you are not my father?" said Jax

Stein backtracked slightly.

"I'm sorry you lost him at such a tender age, but if your father were here right now he'd be saying what I'm saying" said stein

"Just grow up Jefferson!" said stein

"The future of the world is at stake and if you insist on getting yourself killed, as terrible as it might be for your mother or me, who incidentally would also die. I am more concerned about the billions of people who will die because of your arrogant, adolescent, ego" said Stein

Jax looked shocked and hurt.

"Okay" said Jax

He wandered away from Stein and down the hall to the med bay. Riley slipped out of the door behind him. That had been just cruel accurate but still wrong to deliver it in that manner. The kid stumbled and Riley helped him to his feet.

"He didn't mean it" said Jax

Riley frowned because she wasn't sure if he meant Stein or Rip.

"Yes, he did on some level or he would have never thought of it in the first place" said Riley

Jax frowned and gave her a considering look.

"Do you think I need to grow up Riley?" said Jax

She shrugged.

"Everyone does to a point, but that's not maturity he's expecting, its altruism and not everyone has those urges" said Riley

Jax smirked and stopped in the doorway.

"Grey wants to be a hero" said Jax

"and you, what do you want?' said Riley

Jax rocked back on his heels.

"To survive the experience" said Jax

He walked the rest of the way into the room and the door slid shut in Riley's face. She huffed in irritation. She turned to find Rip had followed her.

"Oh I almost forgot, Gideon allow Miss Anderson access to the med bay once again" said Rip

"When you are through checking on him, I wish to speak to you" said Rip

He winced when he turned away.

"You should be in the med bay yourself" said Riley

He hesitated in the hall.

"I'm fine... I" said Rip

She reached out and tapped his side, the man gasped like she had slapped him. She gave him a level look.

"Captain, Miss Anderson is quite correct sir you should have your side examined at the very least" said Gideon.

Riley stepped back from the door.

"Go, we can talk in there at least that way if you say anything that makes me want to hurt you, treatment will be close" said Riley

He gave her a worried look but walked into the room.

"Yeah so will a drawer full of scalpels" muttered Rip

She chuckled at his worried tone. Jax had already climbed up on one of the beds, Rory was sitting on one with an Iv in his arm reading a magazine, by the picture on the front she could guess he wasn't so much as reading it as he was ogling at the pictures of scantily clad woman.

She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Jax. Gideon was already providing the equipment she would need to flush the wound and suture the damaged flesh.

"It is a small contained laceration fortunately with no arterial damage there does appear to be bomb fragments in the wound site, they will have to be removed manually" said Gideon

"Shirt" said Riley

"Scalpels are in the left drawer" said Gideon

"Whoa hold on" said Jax

Jax groaned and stripped off the garment, with a lot of hissing and wincing. Riley quickly grabbed the equipment and went to work. Gideon scanned him again after she irrigated the wound and told her right where the fragments could be found. With a pair of tweezers and a steady hand she removed them one by one and dropped them into the bowl beside her. Picked up a needle threaded it and stitched up the wound, then bandaged the finished product.

"Wow that was very neatly done almost doctor like" said Rory

Riley shrugged.

"I've had some medical training so what" said Riley

She peeled off the gloves and dropped them into the trash.

"You have?" said Rip

He sounded shocked by that admission. She turned towards him, realized she was still holding a scalpel and decided that it would probably be best if she set that down before she talked to the man.

She saw him sigh in relief when she set it down and smirked, as if she needed a weapon to truly hurt him. She stopped next to the bed.

"Miss Anderson… I" said Rip

"Strip!" said Riley

He gave her a confused and surprised look, as if she had just asked him to strip completely.

"Your shirt, unless you'd rather I use the scalpel" said Riley

"Oh yes, of course, silly me" said Rip

He stood, took off his jacket, holster and then pulled the t- shirt over his head. He dropped it on the pile beside him on the table. The first thing Riley noted was how very small the man looked without that jacket.

The second was the very noticeable bruise forming down his entire left side. It made her feel guilty, till she remembered his harsh words from earlier and it made her want to make the other side match. He was looking down at it with a frown on his face.

"Ouch what the hell happened to you?" said Rory

Rip touched the tender flesh in wonder.

"That would be Miss Anderson, I apparently underestimated her temper…not doing that again" said Rip with a gasp, as he shifted and the pain made itself known.

"Holy shit she did that? To you?" said Jax

"Yes I did, Gideon?" said Riley

"The damage is all superficial bruising, nothing appears to be broken underneath but the captain does appear to have a small plasma burn on the back of his skull" said Gideon

The AI sounded confused and Riley had no intention of clarifying things for it.

"A what?" said Rip

He reached for the back of his skull, then winced when he touched tender flesh.

"The only way I would have one of those is if…." said Rip

"A weapon was fired in close proximity to your head captain" said Gideon

"But that would mean…that he actually fired" said Riley

"Yeah but shouldn't he be dead, if that happened?" said Jax

"Yeah he should" said Rory

He lowered his magazine and regarded the captain as if the man was hiding something. Riley forced back the smirk she could feel rising to her face. Hunter finally realized what the other man was implying.

"Me? You think I somehow stopped the blast?" said Rip

Both men nodded and even though Riley knew it was false, she nodded as well. Rip looked shocked for a few minutes.

"That's preposterous even if I had such an ability, and I'm not saying I do, don't you think I would have used it to save my family?" said Rip

"You have to be alive to save your family" said Riley

Okay so she knew he didn't have any abilities but it was still fun to mess with the guy.

"Not necessarily" said Rory

The others gave him a considering look.

"Yeah but if he didn't do it than who did? Cause I sure the hell didn't" said Jax

Rory snorted

"Don't look at me, I was busy" said Rory

Everyone turned to look at Riley and she started laughing.

"Seriously, after what he said to me you think I would still save his ass?" said Riley

"You're here now" said Jax

"I didn't mean them" said Rip

She snorted walked over to the refrigerator, opened the freezer and pulled out an ice pack. She dropped it right on Rip's lap.

"Yeah you did" said Riley

He gasped and quickly relocated the frozen pack to his side.

"No I didn't, I was trying to upset you so you looked appropriately betrayed, that way Druce would think it was authentic, I meant nothing of what I said and it pains me that you would believe otherwise" said Rip

She snorted and started walking towards the door.

"Given the many times you tried to get rid of me, I find that hard to believe" said Riley

"Riley please! Hear me out" said Rip

He had climbed off the bed, when she started to leave. So she turned and leaned on the wall behind her.

"Go ahead and it better be good or I swear to you you'll be in that bed for much more than bruising" said Riley

He stopped in front of her and regarded her for a few minutes then held out his arms.

"You want to hit me, go ahead I deserve it, what I said to you was cruel and I am sorry for it. If you wish to hurt me back for it, I will understand and I'll do nothing to stop you" said Rip

Part of her wanted to still beat him senseless, but a small voice in the back of her mind, a voice that was steadily getting louder thanks to this group, stayed her hand.

"You used me as bait?" said Riley

He nodded yes.

"It was the only way to insure that…" said Rip

Sara darted right past her and before she or Rip could react she punched the man again.

"What the… this is a private conversation Miss Lance" said Rip

"Can it, I saw the footage" said Sara

She promptly followed the statement up with another punch.

"We all agreed that she was not going anywhere near those fuckers then I see you leading her straight into the lion's den in fucking chains, what the fuck Rip?" said Sara

"Miss Lance I was just attempting to explain…." said Rip

Sara hit him again and Rip hit the floor that time. He groaned and turned over and started to climb to his feet. Sara promptly kicked him in the side, right where it was bruised. Rip gasped and curled in on himself and appeared to be trying to catch his breath and failing. Sara started to hit him again and Riley grabbed her arm, pulling her back so the blow didn't connect.

"Enough! He's down" said Riley

He also didn't appear to be trying to get back up.

"Gideon?" said Riley

"The captain appears to be suffering from a collapsed lung, I recommend immediate decompression of the lung cavity" said Gideon Riley rushed for the cabinets, flinging open doors and drawers until she found a needle big enough to release the pressure

"What are you doing?" said Sara

Riley positioned the needle over his chest making sure she didn't hit the lungs or heart and shoved down with all of her strength.

"Saving his life, again" said Riley

Rip opened his eyes and arched his back with a gasp. Riley rested her hand on his chest. He tried to say her name and she shook her head no,

"Just breath sweetheart, just breath" said Riley

"Holy fuck where did you learn to do that?" said Jax

He was staring down at them from his bed.

"Nursing school, Gideon can you…" said Riley

Closer to battlefield triage but she couldn't share that with anyone

"Call the others so they can assist you in getting Captain Hunter onto a bed" said Gideon

"Yeah that" said Riley

"You went to nursing school?" said Rory

"Among other things" said Riley

"Riley I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... I wasn't trying to" said Sara

"I know you were just mad, it's okay and for what it's worth thank you" said Riley

Sara gave her a strange look.

"I'll explain later" said Riley

Sara nodded just as Ray and Snart came through the door.

"Knew that wasn't going to end well" said Ray

"He's not dead?" said Snart as if the news surprised him.

"No, but it was close" said Riley

She motioned for them to lift Rip up onto one of the beds instructing them to be careful of the needle. Once he was there she carefully withdrew the thin piece of metal and covered it with a cloth. Gideon promptly scanned him again.

"The captain appears to have a broken rib on the left side. The most likely cause of the lung collapse, he appears to be stable now and his heart rate is slowly returning to normal, thank you Miss Anderson for assisting him" said Gideon

Riley absently brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"Not a problem" said Riley

"You went to medical school?" said Rip

Riley nodded yes.

"Stop talking and rest" said Riley

He smiled at her in response

"Yes doc" said Rip

She opened her mouth to protest the title.

"Technically since you're the only one of us with any kind of medical training, that makes you the resident doctor" said Jax

"Speaking of which, when can I..." said Jax

"You will be able to leave the bed within the hour Mr. Jackson, Mr. Rory however can leave now and save some of that morphine drip for others that may need it" said Gideon

Rory groaned and pulled the Iv out of his arm and climbed out of the bed. He left the room carrying the magazine. Riley smirked at his retreating back, she could guess what Gideon was going to be recording from his room later.

"And me?" said Rip

"Twenty-four hours' sir and not a minute sooner" said Gideon

Rip groaned and laid his head back on the bed. Riley calmly grabbed a chair, moved it between the two beds and sat down on it.

"Miss Anderson I am sure I will be fine, there is no need…." said Rip

"I almost lost you twice today. So with all due respect captain, stuff it" said Riley


	15. Chapter 15

Wave 15

Her brusque statement caught him off guard, so he did as she asked. She had been worried about him despite what he had done and it floored him. Did that mean she wasn't?

"I'm still mad at you" said Riley

He smiled at her because if she cared enough to still be angry then she still cared about him on some level.

"I know and I deserve it, what I said to you was cruel and I just want you to know every horrible thing I said to you was a lie, please forgive me for it" said Rip

She frowned because the man was just plain confusing. Either he was hot or he was cold and he was changing from one to the other so fast she was getting whiplash.

"was it worth it?" said Riley

Rip looked at the floor.

"No not really, I should have just trusted you all enough to know you were telling me the truth" said Rip

"Trust is something that has to be earned" said Riley

"Too true, I want to trust you Riley but there are so many things that I feel you simply are not telling us and it bothers me because I never know if it's something that will bite us in the ass" said Rip

"When you earn it and not until" said Riley

He sighed.

"I suppose I am back to square one aren't I?" said Rip

She nodded because truthfully no one ever got past stage one but he had come close.

"You were planning to go back to them after this was over weren't you?" said Riley

He sighed and leaned his back into the pillow.

"Yeah, I should have known better but...it was my life for so long I don't know...what I'll do afterwards, when and if I succeed" said Rip

"Take them somewhere safe, preferably in a time period you already killed him in and just live out your life, I'm sure you've got some useful skills that will translate into other careers" said Riley

He chuckled and shook his head.

"I'll keep that in mind, as it is good advice" said Rip

He was staring at her and she met his gaze with curiosity.

"Thank you, for what you did here and out there" said Rip

Was he talking about helping them with Chronos or did he still suspect she had stopped the shot?

"Ah it's nothing I would have stabbed him either way" said Riley

He chuckled and she saw him wince.

"You really don't like Druce do you?" said Rip

She shook her head no.

"The dick locked me in a storage closet on the way back to the vanishing point instead of putting me in with my friends, serves the jackass right that I hurled on his coffee collection" said Riley

Rip frowned at her.

"Did he say why?" said Rip

"Yeah I'm pretty sure it was, because I bit him when they first took the ship and handcuffed him to the railing with the same cuffs he tried to put on me, guess he was worried I'd free them if he put me in with them" said Riley

"He was probably worried about your safety" said Rip

Riley snorted and giggled

"Bit late then, I'd already been with them for at least a year" said Riley

"Thought you said you were close to twelve when they we're caught" said Rip

"I was for the last time, they caught us a few times before that, but we always managed to get free. They even were going to send you out after us in the eighteen hundred's, don't know why they didn't. That's why I thought it was part of the plan, when John told me to get in the jump ship and run. I thought they would be behind me so I left" said Riley

"And that part about Druce taking you home?" said Rip

"Oh he did, I just gave him the wrong address and when he tried to correct it, I stole his ship" said Riley

"That shouldn't have been possible without the command codes" said Rip

"oh, you mean the string of eight numbers that you type in before you take us anywhere, July 21st 2156 is yours, if I am correct it's your son's birthday right? Which made him about ten." said Riley

He gave her a shocked look.

"How did you, know that?" said Rip

"Easy the pattern of the keypad and where you put your fingers, observant remember?" said Riley

He stared at her in shock. Sara peaked her head in the door.

"Hey the guys are getting ready to head to Vostok's lab, do you want to…." said Sara

She looked from Riley to Rip and back again.

"We'll be right there, Sara" said Rip

"Ah no you won't, rest for twenty -four hours remember?" said Riley

He smirked at her.

"Miss Anderson, I can rest just as easily at my desk as I can in this bed, besides I am not tired enough to sleep yet" said Rip

"Ah do you want me to come back?" said Sara

"No, I'll be out shortly the captain will be sleeping for a few hours" said Riley

"I just told you I'm not tired and it is my ship…." said Rip

"Which I have the command code to, am the only medical personnel on board and your AI would be very happy to assist me if it means you don't die on her, so your resting or I'm locking you in here; changing the codes and refusing to give you the new ones until you are healed" said Riley

"ah you can do that?" said Sara

Riley nodded yes

"I will have no problem assisting her in this endeavor" said Gideon

"You wouldn't?" said Rip

She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest

"I would and I can, now rest" said Riley

"But I said I can't sleep" said Rip

"So what do you want me to do about it, read to you or something? Sorry honey, I only read to those under ten, but I'd be happy to get you a sedative" said Riley

She smirked at the captain

"They are in the third cabinet on the right, needles are in the drawer below them" said Gideon

"Traitor" muttered Rip

"Oh come on Miss Anderson what they are doing is dangerous; I've got to at least monitor them" said Rip

"We can monitor them while you rest, now get some sleep captain" said Riley

She stood up and walked out of the room. Tapped a command code into the door and essentially locked the captain in the sickbay. It would unlock automatically after he had been in there for a few hours.

"Miss Anderson?" said Rip

The door clicked shut and the red light switched on, she really had locked him in the room. He swore and hobbled his way to the door. He hit the lock and the door flashed red. What the hell?

"oh come on seriously?" said Rip

"Gideon, unlock this door" said Rip

"No can do captain; you've been declared unfit for duty until 2100 hours by medical" said Gideon

Rip frowned that was three hours away.

"Gideon we don't have a medical, have the others left for Vostok's lab yet?" said Rip

"No sir they are hashing out the last minute details as we speak and anyone with medical training on board is automatically medical unless otherwise noted by the captain and you have already acknowledged Miss Anderson as medical, would you like me to quote the regulation?" said Gideon

Rip swore under his breath; when he realized he had done exactly that even if he meant it as a joke.

"What last minute details?" said Rip

"The party that will be going sir, Mr. Jackson is insisting on going and Miss Anderson is adamant that he not be included in the group" said Gideon

"Oh I whole heartedly concur with her the last thing we want is to gift wrap both halves of firestorm for Savage, I do not think even Stein should be going" said Rip "Miss Anderson and Miss Lance both expressed their misgivings about that also but reasoned it was a better choice than Miss Saunders" said Gideon

Rip rubbed the bridge of his nose. He couldn't believe he was locked in a room on his own damn ship, this was embarrassing.

"Very well keep me informed" said Rip

He wandered away from the door and looked through the cabinets for something to read. He found a fashion magazine, a Sudoku book, an anime comic book, an issue of playboy and a drawing pad. The fashion magazine he shoved back in the cupboard, likewise the playboy simply because he didn't want to explain why he had such a reaction when he was supposed to be sleeping.

The Sudoku he set aside and the anime comic book he simply wasn't interested in so it also got returned to the cabinet. He flipped open the sketchbook wondering as he looked at the pictures within, who it belonged to because it certainly wasn't his. The artwork was good and very detailed especially the parts of the ship.

"Gideon who does this book belong to?" said Rip

He held it up so Gideon could clearly see the cover.

"I believe it is Miss Anderson's sir" said Gideon

He turned the page and froze, his own image stared back at him from the page in his hands. It was almost photograph quality in the attention to detail and it gave him some insight into Miss Anderson's mindset because she had captured him at his most vulnerable complete with a tear frozen in one eye, the ghostly image of his family in the background just like in the recording.

He froze for a second; a recording he had only watched once in her presence, yet she was able to recreate it in this amount of detail.

"Gideon what is the duration of the file marked Jonas' birthday?" said Rip

"Three minutes twenty seconds sir" said Gideon

"When I played it three days hence, did I pause for any length of time?" said Rip "You paused and rewound segment two point thirty-three twice" said Gideon "And Miss Anderson's where bouts at the time?" said Rip

"She walked through the bridge about the time you paused playback for the first time" said Gideon

"And the length of that pause?" said Rip

"one minute, twenty- two seconds" said Gideon

Rip's mouth dropped open in shock. That would mean she recreated this picture from only a few minute glimpse.

"Gideon is Miss Anderson human?" said Rip

"Yes, captain vitals were confirmed on her shortly after she came on board as was a DNA sample, perhaps she simply has an eidetic memory sir" said Gideon

"or she's some sort of meta human" said Rip

"There are some mild fluctuations in the readings, indicating she was exposed to a mutative element at some point in her life and she does contain the genetic coding" said Gideon

"Was she present in central city in the year 2016?" said Rip

"Unknown sir, too much about her timeline has been compromised, falsified or locked for me to get an accurate reading" said Gideon

So she could very well be a meta but they had no way of knowing for sure unless she openly used whatever talent she had. Or was she…using it, they just weren't noticing it.

"Gideon do you have any of the recordings from the Greyhill building?" said Rip "Yes sir, I stored them in our archives so we can later identify the weapons Mr. Savage used" said Gideon

"Can you call them up to this screen?" said Rip

"I could sir but I won't, you are supposed to be resting" said Gideon

Rip groaned in frustration.

"I am resting; I find this relaxing; now please Gideon this is important" said Rip The AI made a noise that sounded like a very human sigh.

"It seems Miss Anderson is quite correct; you are stubborn beyond reason" said Gideon

Rip snorted in indignant response

The screen turned on and the ceremony was clearly displayed through the lens of a security camera. He was halfway through the fight sequence when he noticed something.

"Gideon rewind that last segment and focus on Miss Lance." said Rip

There it was, proof that Miss Anderson did indeed have some sort of talent. He rewound it again, then froze the frame. Just as the grenade went off the blood from the floor slithered up Miss Lance's ankles and somehow created a protective barrier.

He rocked back on his heels as the implications sank in, not only did she save the entire team that day but she did so with no one being the wiser.

"Fascinating, it seems yet again Miss Anderson has a skill we are unaware of" said Rip

"Shall I inform the others?" said Gideon

"No I want to confront her as a group, Gideon how much time do I have?" said Rip

"Approximately ten more minutes' sir and the door should unlock automatically, though I will inform Miss Anderson that you did not sleep a wink the entire time" said Gideon

"Don't you dare, that woman is worried about me enough...as it is… she's worried about me" said Rip

"Yes captain perhaps she has good reason to be, you did almost die on her" said Gideon

Rip frowned and retreated to the bed to grab the sketch pad.

"She loves me?" said Rip

"More than likely, sir" said Gideon

Rip frowned and held the sketch pad close to his chest. The door opened a few minutes later.

"I will rest later tonight after I am sure the away team, can't believe I'm using trek terms, is safely back on board. Fair enough?" said Rip

"Fine that will have to do but if you don't I will inform her" said Gideon

The door slid open and Rip walked out of the room.

"She is right; you are a tattle tale" said Rip

He found everyone gathered around the table on the flight deck arguing on why or why not they should be included in the party that was leaving.

"I still feel that I should go…." said Kendra

"Yeah you never explained why your letting Grey go and not me" said Jax

"You are not going Mr. Jackson because you are all she needs to create their own version of firestorm and you Miss Saunders are our only means to kill Savage so, no neither of you will be going" said Rip

They all turned because no one had noticed him enter the room.

"What about me?" said Sara

"Your presence will be required here" said Rip

He flopped the sketch pad on the table and Riley gave him a perplexed look.

"It seems that once again Miss Anderson has neglected to inform us of yet another skill she seems to have acquired" said Rip

"You mean beyond being able to hack Gideon and take over the ship if she wants to" said Jax

"or the medical training" said Rory

"Wait, medical training you were a doctor?" said Ray

"Nurse" said Riley

"You went to nursing school?" said Stein

"Yes" said Riley

"Where?" said Sara

Riley frowned because she truly didn't want to share this but supposed that it was eventually going to come out.

"The military" said Riley

The group stared at her in shock.

"You were in the military?" said Snart

Riley nodded yes.

"Well that was interesting but not what I intended to share, Gideon pull up the footage" said Rip

The screen display projected a three dimensional image hovering over the table.

"The Greyhill building? So what we were there" said Snart

Rip touched the screen and zoomed on Sara's ankles

"Okay, so she has nice ankles what gives..." said Jax

"Wait for it…there, Gideon freeze frame" said Rip

On the screen was blood crawling from the floor and up Sara's ankles, like a liquid snake, then acting like a deflective barrier when the grenade blast hit.

"and she's not the only one" said Rip

He touched the screen and slid his finger across it, the image shifted to another member of the team; again likewise protected against the grenade's attack.

"So she's the one that kept you from getting your head blown off" said Rory

Riley nodded because she didn't see the point in denying it any longer.

"Okay anybody else here creeped out by the fact she used someone's blood to protect us, sorry it's kinda gross" said Jax

"no not really, considering the alternative" said Snart

He pointed to one of the bodies right as the grenade cut it in half.

"Yeah I'm kinda cool with it, considering" said Sara

Stein raised a finger because he was currently flipping through the sketchbook.

"Quick question is it only blood you can control and what do you call this particular ability?" said Stein

Riley wanted to slap Rip just now, she didn't want to share this; damn him. Fortunately, it wasn't something that had ever made it into her file because she rarely used it where it could be observed anymore.

"Ah no; its all liquid in any form or in anything and the scientists called it hydro kinesis" said Riley

"Hydro as in water?" said Ray

Riley nodded yes.

"In all things? So like, you can control our blood while its flowing through our bodies?" said Jax

Riley nodded yes again.

"Yes, how do you think you made it back to the ship without bleeding out?" said Riley

Jax froze and gave her an appraising look.

"you did that?" said Jax

She nodded yes.

"What are your limits?" said Ray

"I can control about six thousand cubic miles of water at the same time" said Riley

"which is how much?" said Jax

"It is about the volume of lake Michigan, Mr. Jackson" said Gideon "whoa…that's…just… whoa" said Jax

"Impressive, very impressive" said Stein

"how did you get this ability?" said Rip

"And why didn't you say anything about it?" said Sara

Riley looked at the table top in front of her. She knew about the Star labs incident of course so it gave her a convenient scape goat.

"We were in Central City to fence some stolen artwork, and I decided I was thirsty; so I went for a walk down to this guy on the corner selling bottled water, and then the whole sky went wacko; I woke up in a fountain" said Riley

"which means you were a child when you acquired it, if you were still running with the pirates" said Ray

Riley nodded because he was right.

"wow!" said Ray

"damn you could do that kinda shit as a kid, why didn't you say something?" said Jax

Okay the only part that was close to true was the fountain, really more of a drainage ditch actually and the fencing of stolen art work. She had made certain that they avoided the day Star labs went critical because the last thing she needed was even more talents. They nodded obviously drawing the conclusion she wanted them to from her tale.

"yeah, why didn't you say anything?" said Snart

The others turned to look at her expectantly. Riley opened her mouth to give them a neutral reason why she didn't share the fact she even had this talent but Rory interrupted her instead.

"she doesn't trust us" said Rory

She didn't bother to deny it and simply nodded; she simply didn't know them enough to trust them just yet.

"Our track record with Miss Anderson has been less than exemplary, it is no wonder she has reservations when it comes to trusting us" said stein

"The professors right, you were planning to ditch her and wipe her memory and she turned out to be the only one able to read that journal" said Ray

"You betrayed her and yet she still saved your ass, even though she had every reason to let you die" said Rory

He left it implied that he would not have.

Rip was just standing there looking guiltier by the minute.

"Twice, is it any wonder she has trust issues" said Sara

The group was now glaring at him like he had done something wrong.

"The way I see it, she has a right to her secrets just like the rest of us and if she wants to trust us with those it is up to the young lady to do so and I for one am thankful that she exercised those rather…impressive abilities to our benefit and wish to heartily convey my gratitude" said Stein

He nodded towards Riley and she smiled back.

"and the reason Mr. Allen and the others didn't know about you is because you left" said Ray

Rip gave the man a glare.

"Mr. Allen?" said Riley

"The flash" said Stein

Rip gave him an incredulous look

"Are there any more secret identities you two wish to out while we're at it?" said Rip

"Wait so Mr. Allen is the flash?" said Riley

They nodded as a group.

"So who is the guy in the green, with the whole robin hood thing going on?" said Riley

Sara chuckled and started to tell her.

"Miss Lance, don't you dare" said Rip

"What she's on our side and she's likely to meet them anyways" said Sara

Rip groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"fine go ahead" said Rip

"Oliver Queen" said Sara

"Oh, I knew it" said Snart

"Uh no pay up buddy boy, I called that first and you shot it down, told you he wasn't the batman" said Rory

Groaning Snart reached into his pocket pulled out a wallet and removed several bills from it. He handed Rory the stack reluctantly.

"Wait, then who was batman?" said Ray

"Okay enough" said Rip

"Bruce Wayne, that's where my money would be" said Stein

"Yeah kinda convenient he takes in that circus kid, then all of a sudden the bat has a partner, just saying" said Jax

"Yeah, I can't believe no one noticed that" said Sara

"Alright, alright, enough already; we have a job to do. Professor Stein, Dr. Palmer, Mr. Snart and Mr. Rory you are to enter the labs find out what she is working on and shut it down. Miss Lance you are to continue to help Kendra get her inner winged goddess under control, so I won't have to keep sidelining her" said Rip

"Wait what about me?" said Jax

"You Mr. Jackson are still recovering from your wound as am I, Miss Anderson is going to be monitoring both of us while we monitor the team, that way if there are any unforeseen complications we have someone with medical training on hand to deal with them. Miss Saunders and Miss Lance will be on hand should she require aid with us" said Rip


	16. Chapter 16

Wave 16

It was time to make their way to Vostok's hidden lab. Fortunately, Snart had managed to place a tracking device on miss Vostok before he swiped her badge. If he hadn't they would have never found the place in the first place. Rip moved the ship so it was closer and also because they were worried about Druce and his friends coming back.

Kendra was angry about being sidelined and had retreated to her room but given her last outburst no one quite trusted her control as of yet, Sara had followed her to continue the training. Riley was watching the blips on the screen make their way into the building while at the same time she was monitoring their location through the pipes in the building and the blood in their veins.

"Oh great; now which direction, this place is confusing?" said Stein

"Go to the right and up the stairs, there's a door to the left that will give you access" said Riley

Rip looked up at her.

"Ah how do you know that?" said Ray

"I'm tracking the water pipes and also the people in the building and the opposite way just leads to a restroom" said Riley

"You can track the water in pipes?" said Jax

"I can track every drop of moisture on the planet" said Riley

"Okay wow! That's...impressive" said Rip

"Okay, to the right it is sweetheart; hope your right" said Snart

They climbed the stairs and went through the door.

"Oh my god!" said Stein

"What?" what is it?" said Rip

"Dead bodies, lots of them" said Ray

"It appears that we were right, she is trying to duplicate firestorm" said Stein "These poor bastards must be her failures" said Rory

"But to get this far… she would need a thermal core" said Stein

His blip started forward and went through the door, the others quickly followed him. They went deeper into the building and Stein started swearing again. Riley gave Rip a worried look because so far all that was coming out of Stein's mouth was swear words.

Riley's eyes widened in shock because she wasn't aware that Stein even knew some of those words coming out of his mouth.

"Professor need I remind you that this is supposed to be a reconnaissance mission and that there are ladies present" said Rip

Stein ignored him so Rip turned to Ray

"Mr. Palmer?" said Rip

"Dr. Palmer and she appears to have built a thermal core and some sort of chamber to contain it" said Ray

"We need to shut it down, she's only a few steps away from succeeding" said Stein

Riley felt them enter the building along with that Vostok woman

"Guys you've got company inbound, so whatever you plan to do make it fast" said Riley

A second later several blips that were definitely not the team appeared on Rip's screen. He gave her a surprised look.

"You weren't kidding you really can track things with that ability." said Rip

"We've got the newcomers, just get that core" said Snart

"Right Ray the control room is three doors down from you and on the right" said Riley

"It would have to be the right side the left is a railing with a drop on the other side" said Ray

"Not a gps Dr. Palmer" said Riley

Ray entered the room in question

"No your better sweetheart at least you won't steer me into a lake" said Ray "Unless you piss her off" said Jax

Rip chuckled

"Can't say I recommend that" said Rip

Riley smirked and shook her head.

"Great now start shutting it down" said Riley

She could feel that Stein had entered the chamber.

"Professor Stein what are you doing?" Rip

"Getting the thermal core as soon as the others have it powered down I'm taking it with us, It's literally the last piece she needs to re-create me and I'm not leaving here without it" said Stein

Rip swore and turned to Jax

"Grey what are you doing, you're not firestorm you're just a stubborn old man about to make a very bad decision" said Jax

"Jefferson is this what it's like when I'm in your head, if so I do apologize dear boy it is most distracting" said Stein

"Grey don't do this you're going to get yourself killed, you can't absorb that amount of energy by yourself" said Jax

"You were right I've risked you enough over the years, now it's my turn, Raymond turn it off please" said Stein

"Professor despite your invulnerability to nuclear energy you are still quite vulnerable to bullets, so please hurry" said Rip

The core started to power down as Ray slowly shut off the power, then he spotted Vostok and had to go all white knight on them all.

"uht oh we've got a problem Valentina is heading for the containment room. If she opens that door with the amount of energy Stein's going to unleash..." said Ray

"Yeah, yeah it will fry the bitch instantly, just keep shutting it down Ray" said Riley

Rip gave her a worried look and she guessed it was for the nonchalance she just showed when it came to someone dying.

"Raymond why is the thermal core still at full power?" said Stein

"We're here to stop Savage from creating a nuclear powered super hero, saving some commie broad ain't on the agenda" said Snart

Ray made an exasperated sound and Riley suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

"If the radiation doesn't kill her; Savage will once he knows the lab's been sabotaged-look we've got to get her out of here" said Ray

Riley swore because she knew the idiot was about to do something stupid just because he believed her to be an innocent bystander.

"Listen to me Raymond; just because someone has a pretty face doesn't make them a good person, Vostok is knowingly creating a monster and will start a war if she succeeds, now stop thinking with your lower anatomy and start using the head on your shoulders and shut down that thermal core" said Riley

Rip was staring at her as if she had told him some deep dark secret.

"Fine I'll get her, someone needs to shut down that core and I skipped that merit badge" said Snart

"Probably because I didn't do anything as lame as joining the scouts in the first place" Snart muttered as he left the control tower.

Riley shut off Ray's feed and switched it so only Snart heard her.

"Leonard?" said Riley

"Yes sweetheart, I'm kinda busy right now" said Snart

"You're going to get Vostok?" said Riley

"Yep, otherwise boy scout will go all white knight on us and everything will go to pot" said Snart

"I want you to treat Vostok as if she were a hostile, if she even looks like she's reaching for a weapon shoot the bitch" said Riley

The others around the table were staring at her in shock

"Already planned on it sweetheart" said Snart

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?' said Jax

"No I'm willing to bet she's working with him knowing exactly what he intends to do with her creation" said Riley

Jax snorted

"Why cause she's pretty, sure that ain't just some jealousy bleeding through?" said Jax

She snorted in response.

"Fine if I'm wrong I'll give you a painting worth enough to buy a chain of automotive repair shops when we get back to 2016" said Riley

"and if your right, I ain't got that kind of money?" said Jax

"It's okay the only thing I want is an apology for that statement, oh and you can throw in a few free auto repairs, I got a few classics in storage" said Riley

"Miss Anderson, if you stole those…" said Rip

"Nope bought them fair and square and some were even gifts from the artists themselves" said Riley

Rip frowned at her.

"like who?" said Rip

"Van Gogh, Renoir and da Vinci; just to name a few" said Riley

They both stared at her is shock.

"You have gifts from some of the most famous artists in history?' said Rip

Riley nodded yes.

"you're kidding right?" said Snart

"no, now focus please Leonard" said Riley

"fine, you're on" said Jax

Riley reached her hand across the table and the kid shook it. Rip shook his head with a chuckle.

"what?" said Jax

"Nothing, just that was a sucker's bet" said Rip

"No…" said Jax

"Yep better face it now kid, you're gonna be kissing a lot of ass" said Snart

Jax shook his head in denial.

"Let me put it this way, how often has Miss Anderson been wrong on this trip?" said Rip

"not once" said Snart

"Damn, I'm screwed" said Jax

They heard Snart talk to Vostok and her reaction and then right as predicted she turned on Leonard. She heard him fire his weapon, then swear. A few minutes later Vostok was threatening Snart to get Ray to turn the power back on.

Ray like a dumbass complied and just when they all thought their teammates were toast, Rory came in blasting. They could clearly hear both guns discharging but other than a few blips on the screen they couldn't tell what was happening. Ray was moving away from the control room and Stein appeared to still be inside the containment chamber.

"Our friends just got pinched by the ruskies, I need some back up now!" said Snart Rip was frowning at the screen so Riley looked up at him.

"shall I go get Sara and Kendra?" said Riley

"Hey, I'm going" said Jax

"no; you are most certainly not, Mr. Snart grab the thermal core and get out of there as best you can" said Rip

Riley noticed that Rip did currently have his back to her, so she went in search of Kendra and Sara, after realizing that even if she managed to find the two other women; putting Kendra out there in her current condition would more than likely get their teammates killed. Riley made a split second decision, she opened the door and stepped off the ship. If something happened to her she was expendable as far as the team went, plus she already slipped the jump drive with all of her plans into Raymond's stuff. So she wouldn't be the one to get credit for everything, it wasn't something she cared about anyways.

The rush of water under her feet was almost overwhelming but she shoved it back. Rip was still arguing with Jax when Gideon interrupted him.

"Captain Hunter; Miss Anderson has stepped off the ship" said Gideon

"oh no! , No, no, no, what the hell is she doing?" said Rip

"she appears to be creating a fog bank somehow" said Gideon

The headset on her head crackled.

"Miss Anderson what are you doing?" said Rip

"Retrieving our friends" said Riley

"No, no you are most certainly not. I gave a direct order Miss Anderson, Mr. Snart can handle himself" said Rip

she noted that his tone actually sounded worried and it bothered her because it was more proof he had gotten too close. She was considering just pushing him away and maybe breaking his heart some just to keep him from getting hurt.

"Miss Anderson? Don't you…" said Rip

She shut off the radio. Rip swore and chucked his ear piece across the room.

She moved through the trees towards the lab building, she could feel a small army of men waiting for Vostok outside the facility. The ground was covered in fresh powder, so she changed it to a fine mist and made it drift upwards and towards the buildings cloaking it in what amounted to a fog bank.

She saw Snart climb over a fence a few feet from some guards who never even saw him because of the fog. A truck had pulled up and she was willing to bet it was for their prisoners. Snart was swearing and kept pausing like he intended to go back for the others but didn't want to leave the thermal core where anyone could find it. She knew he most likely could not see her in this fog, so she made a small noise and his gun was instantly pointed at her.

"Chill Len it's me" said Riley

Then she smirked because she just told captain cold to chill.

"Where's the rest of the team, we need to get the others" said Snart

Riley could feel that the amount of troops at the facility had doubled, which meant they were expected.

"Back at the ship, Rip didn't send me out I made that decision myself" said Riley Snart eyed her for a few minutes.

"Can you fight?" said Snart

"Yes but there's an army there now, we need the rest of the team or we'll just die in the attempt" said Riley

She could probably take out that many people but there was no telling how much damage she would do to the surrounding structures and since one of them contained a nuclear power plant, she honestly didn't want to make that go critical.

Snart was still hesitating as if he was weighing their odds, she knew he came to the same conclusion when he started swearing.

"We'll get them back, come on let's get that damn thing back to the ship" said Riley

Snart snorted and picked up the box. Together they trudged back to the ship and up the ramp. They found Rip waiting for them and once again he looked pissed off. Snart ignored him and walked past him.

"When I give a direct order I expect it to be obeyed Miss Anderson" said Rip

"Then don't give douche bag orders" said Riley

"You can leave at any time" said Rip

She flipped him off and kept walking.

Riley started to do the same and Rip grabbed her arm.

"What the hell were you thinking?" said Rip

She pulled her arm free angrily.

"That our friends needed our help but someone decided that a box was more important" said Riley

"Miss Anderson despite your rather impressive ability to stop a plasma charge, you are not immune to bullets" said Rip

She snorted at him in response.

"I can stop a bullet" said Riley

"Yes so can most people it's called getting shot, Miss Anderson" said Rip

She strode past him and he started swearing then followed her.

"Damn you, why will you not listen to me! You could have been killed, miss Anderson does that mean nothing to you?" said Rip

She snorted in frustration because no it didn't, but she wasn't ready for him to know that yet.

"Obviously it means something to you" said Riley

"You, you Miss Anderson mean something to me, I just wish you'd realize it" said Rip

But his words were lost on her because she had already left the room. He muttered another curse and followed her. She walked up the stairs and then down the hall to her room. He watched her go then walked into his den. Snart was already sitting in one of the chairs his gun draped casually on his shoulder.

"Trouble in paradise?" said Snart

Rip snorted

"Oh; thank god you got it, thankfully one of you listened" said Rip

Snart lowered the weapon and armed it.

"Where was my back up captain? Half the team is gone because of you and only your girlfriend had the nerve to step off this ship after them" said Snart

"And if I had sent the other half in there to rescue them, they'd be captured too. Then where would we be hmm, Savage would have both halves of firestorm, a dead Kendra on top of a dead Carter. Everything he wants. It would be the end to our little crusade and most likely the world. So before you pull that trigger ask yourself…what would you have done?" said Rip

Riley walked into the room and just stood there leaning on the doorframe. Rip glanced her way briefly as did Snart. Then Snart shook his head.

"Whew! that's a pretty cold calculation Rip, almost criminal, except we criminals have a code you never leave one of your own behind" said Snart

He lowered the gun, stood up and walked forward.

"We will get them back" said Rip

"Oh I know we will because she already promised we would, we may not know everything about her but I do know one thing, she's always had our backs. You I'm not so sure about" said Snart

"Yes, yes she has" said Rip

Snart strode out of the room and Rip sighed in relief.

"Miss Anderson… I…" said Rip

She raised a finger to stop him from going any further.

"No you need to stop, I get what your trying to do but this selfish shit your doing has got to stop" said Riley

"oh I'm selfish? This coming from the girl who lied about her origins just so she could tag along with our little expedition, why so she can avenge her family. Sound familiar dear, don't pretend your any better than I am" said Rip

She eyed him for a second trying to decide what his motivation for that statement was.

"I never claimed I was, you're the one's claiming to be heroes on some noble quest to save the world, not I, I'm just here to kill an asshole that more than deserves it" said Riley

"and its families, plural in case you forgot" said Riley

He frowned because he realized that she was right she had never seemed to care for the hero title.

"I haven't, I just don't want you joining them. if that makes me selfish than I'd rather be the most selfish man alive than to lose you" said Rip

He had moved closer and was now cupping her face like he intended to kiss her again, she stepped back just as Kendra and Sara walked in.

"You'll have to get used to the hero title because when we succeed we'll have saved the world, which will make you a hero just like us" said Kendra

Riley snorted and shook her head because she doubted that in any timeline she could ever be considered heroic.

"but you don't intend to see that do you, he is going to lose you, that's why you keep pulling away from him isn't it?" said Sara

Rip gave her a worried look but she refused to meet his eyes or answer that question. Jax walked into the room followed by Snart.

"She right, you planning on dying or something on us?" said Jax

Riley shrugged truthfully she was afraid of this conversation but also expecting it, fortunately she had already plotted out her responses.

"I plan on doing nothing of the sort but you never know what plans fate has for you. I simply care to acknowledge the risks" said Riley

"Besides I'm not the one the time masters are trying to kill" said Riley

She gave Rip a pointed look and the man swore.

"That does it I'm taking you home right now" said Rip

She chuckled at his response and her companions looked at her like she was nuts.

"No you're not, because I'm not telling you where or when home is" said Riley "You just don't care do you?" said Snart

"Oh I care and for the record I'm going nowhere until our friends are back on this ship safe and sound" said Riley

"You're more afraid you'll lose him, aren't you?" said Sara

Riley nodded yes in response. Sara folded her into a hug and Rip just looked worried and guilty

"She's right we need to be focusing on them not on what might happen to Riley" said Kendra

The hawk woman was eyeing her quite closely, Riley however was ignoring her because she was focused on their friends, more specifically where they were right now. She moved to the center console.

"Gideon can you pull up a map of this area" said Riley

"Yes of course miss Anderson; if that's what the captain wants me to do" said Gideon

Riley glared at Rip because obviously he had reset a few things while she was gone.

"Sorry; had to change the passwords so to speak, Gideon please do as she asks" said Rip

Gideon complied bringing up a three dimensional map complete with road signs. Riley closed her eyes and focused on the truck and its driver. She wasn't sure if she could still do this because she had only done it one other time before, and it gave her a blinding headache afterwards, but she would try now for the sake of their friends.

"what are you?" said Jax

She raised her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. What she was doing required a lot more concentration than her normal control did. After a few seconds of trying; it finally worked and she was using the fluid in the driver's eyes to see where he was going. Unfortunately, since the image had yet to be inverted by his retinas, it was upside down. She hovered her finger over the map until she spotted the road sign and then touched the road.

"Here they are here and they just turned down this road" said Riley

"How do you know…." said Jax

The entire group shushed him.


	17. Chapter 17

Wave 17

She followed each turn the truck made until finally it stopped moving altogether.

"Koshmar" said Riley, reading the sign off the side of the building.

"Labor camp 54 formerly known as Koshmar gulag or nightmare gulag, built in the 18th century…" said Gideon.

"Can we skip past the Wikipedia crap and get to the good stuff, like how to break in" said Snart

Gideon was silent for a few minutes. Riley's head was in pain she had a splitting headache now, that was closer to a migraine. She leaned on the table to catch her breath as she withdrew her tendril, after verifying that the guys were indeed being unloaded at that location and almost panicked. She was blind, hopefully it was only temporary.

"Perhaps you didn't register that as a question Gideon" said Sara

"I understood but in its 200 years of operation no one has ever successfully escaped…" said Gideon

"No offense Gideon, but I never met a building I couldn't break into" said Snart "Well I hope you're right, Savage knows that Stein created Firestorm but if he finds out he is…" said Rip

"Always Savage with you isn't it, my partner is in prison too?" said Snart

Riley stepped back from the table and found she had another issue, dizziness. "and Ray" said Sara

"Yeah, yeah whatever" said Snart

"We're not trying to break out Gideon, we are breaking in" said Riley

"That also has never been done" said Gideon

"Just what are you implying Mr. Snart?" said Rip

Riley groaned because apparently testosterone was at an all point high right now.

"My point is you didn't lift a finger when it mattered, only she did and the only reason we know where they are, is because of her" said Snart

He pointed at Riley just as she swayed and almost fell. Jax caught her as she swayed.

"Whoa there you all right?" said Jax

"Yes…just a bit light headed, have never done that for so long before, I'll be fine do continue" said Riley

"Are you certain Miss Anderson?" said Rip

She nodded yes, because they really needed to start working on a way to get the others back.

"Done what? what exactly we're you doing?" said Kendra

"Later, perhaps you should sit down babe" said Snart

"Capital idea, Sara…..." said Rip

"On it" said Sara

She grabbed a chair from Rip's office and set it behind Riley.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL, IT WAS NEVER MY INTENTION TO GET THEM THROWN INTO A GULAG! but I had no other option" said Rip

Riley eased herself down into the chair, leaned her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands. Riley sighed then winced when the yelling Rip was doing drove a spike through her skull.

"Are you all right Miss Anderson?" said Gideon

Riley simply nodded her head then promptly regretted the action

"Besides I doubt it is Mr. Rory's first time in prison or second or tenth" said Rip Snart raised his fist like he intended to hit Rip, but Sara intervened.

"Enough you two, arguing will not get our friends back" said Sara

Riley decided now was the time to distract them from any more arguing.

"I was using the fluid in the driver's eyes to see where he was going and the fluid in the radiator to track the vehicle" said Riley "That how you knew the name of the place babe?" said Snart

"Whoa! You can do that?" said Jax

"Yes, but it's easier when it's done in short bursts, in close proximity and when the target isn't moving away from you at a high rate of speed, can you all talk softer please" said Riley

"Maybe you should stay seated" said Sara

"Why?" said Kendra

"I have a bit of a migraine now" said Riley

She left off the visual impairment because she wanted them to focus on the mission.

"Why how far away is the gulag?" said Jax

"About thirty or forty miles away from our present location Mr. Jackson" said Gideon

Sara noticed that Riley seemed to be focusing on their voices rather than their faces. Snart was noticing it too; as was Rip if the worried frown on his face was any indication. Sara motioned to the others to not say anything to her and they nodded.

"Damn and you kept it up from here? At the same time?" said Jax

"Wow, that's amazing" said Kendra

Riley nodded yes, because yeah it was impressive.

"So we need to find out who controls the black market inside the prison, no walls are impenetrable" said Riley

"The Bratva, would control goods going into or out of the prison" said Sara

"The Bratva?" said Kendra

"Russian mob" said Snart

"Mobsters, wonderful" said Rip

Sara moved closer to the young woman as silently as she could and held her hand up in front of Riley's face, she didn't react because she had no idea Sara was even near her.

"Riley, how many fingers am I holding up?" said Sara

"I…I have no idea I can't see them at the moment" said Riley

"You're kidding, right? Please say you're kidding" said Sara

Riley shook her head no and Sara swore.

They all gave her worried looks but Riley of course didn't see them. Rip let out a string of swear words.

"Can't see… Oh my god woman, why didn't you say anything…Gideon?" said Rip He had moved closer to her that much Riley could tell just by the volume of his voice. He touched her chin and tilted her head back to look in her eyes.

"I will be fine, now will you stop fawning over me and focus on the task at hand" said Riley

She tried swatting at Rip but missed because she had no idea where he was.

Snart snorted "Like that's going to happen" said Snart

She was now thoroughly embarrassed, that she was now the focus of their attention, when it should be on their friends.

"Was it because of what you were doing, if so you don't need to knock yourself out like that?" said Jax

"Yeah we could have found them on our own" said Kendra

"After they endured what waiting for a rescue, no time is of the essence and I am sure it is only temporary" said Riley

Rip snorted but didn't leave her side, much to Riley's irritation

"Miss Anderson seems to be suffering from a temporary visual impairment most likely brought on by over using her abilities, perhaps she should rest" said Gideon "Yes good idea, come along Miss Anderson let me take you to sick bay" said Rip Riley protested and Rip placed his finger on her mouth.

"But you need…." said Riley

"You up and running at full, now shoo before I carry you my damn self" said Snart

She started again and this time the whole group shot her down and demanded she head to sick bay.

"Just this once do not argue with me on something, please" said Rip

Honestly she was too tired to make a fuss, besides sick bay has pain medication. so she simply nodded, then swayed when the dizziness caught hold again. Rip wrapped his arm around her and guided her out of the room and down to sick bay. Rip helped her up on one of the beds and she heard him searching through drawers.

"How long do these side effects usually last?" said Rip

He was scared because she could hear the fear in his voice.

"I don't know; I've never done it for this long or over such a distance before" said Riley

He slammed one of the drawers shut and she winced in response.

"Damn it Riley, why didn't you say anything? I could have moved the ship or something, why do you constantly insist… argh! You are so frustrating woman" said Rip

"Volume" said Riley, in a hiss

"Why? Why should I respect your wishes if you continue to vex me by ignoring mine?" said Rip

She winced as each of his words stabbed pain right through her skull.

"Because I wouldn't rub salt into your wounds; now please I'm begging you stop talking so loud, I have a migraine on top of the blindness" said Riley in a whisper, tears were leaking out of her eyes.

"The morphine is in the top drawer captain; I suggest intravenous insertion" said Gideon

Riley noted the AI had actually lowered her volume and the lights in the room. Rip sighed and opened another drawer. She heard him unwrap a needle and tap its side when he had it filled.

"Forgive me, I should wait and chide you later, I was simply frustrated by your insistence on doing everything yourself, to quote your own words back to you, you are no longer alone in this, please allow us the same trust that we show you" said Rip

He flipped her arm over and cleaned a spot on her arm.

"This will hurt for a second" said Rip

Then he inserted the needle and emptied the contents into her arm, pressed a cotton ball to the hole and folded her arm over the spot, then replaced the cotton ball with a band aid.

"Do you?" said Riley

"Do I what?" said Rip

"Trust me" said Riley

She heard the chair shift beside her and him settle in it.

"What are you…." said Riley

"Staying with you until I am sure you are all right, now sleep sweetheart and yes I trust you, like I've trusted no other before; that's what scares me" said Rip

He kissed her forehead gently and rested his head against hers briefly. She could feel the effects of the drug already and reasoned it was probably because she didn't have breakfast this morning or anything else for that matter.

"So stubborn" said Rip

She chuckled.

"ditto" said Riley

She heard a noise in the direction of the door.

"she alright?" said Snart

"Yes Mr. Snart, I will be fine and it is my eyes not my hearing that has been affected" said Riley

Snart chuckled darkly and she could tell by his tone that he was still angry with Rip for his earlier decision.

"You staying with her?" said Snart

"Yes… I" said Rip

"When you're done Gideon has narrowed it down to two crime families that may run black market goods into the prison, we're deciding on how to approach them" said Snart

Before he gave Rip a chance to reply, Snart was gone.

"He's still pissed at you" said Riley

Her voice was softer than usual.

"Oh I would imagine he is but not as much as I am with myself at present" said Rip

She turned towards him the drugs were trying to force her under.

"Why?" she muttered then passed out.

Rip leaned over and stared at her sleeping face for a few seconds, then gently touched his lips to hers.

"Because I allowed this to happen" said Rip

He watched her sleep for a few hours and came to a decision, whether she liked it or not he was not going to let her risk herself. His mother would most likely slap him for what he was about to do. He reached over and deftly undid the buttons on her pants and slid them down her legs, he did the same with the shirt, then left the cabin with both garments, stashed them in a cupboard in his cabin and returned to her side. Until he drifted off himself for a little while.

The sound of someone else in the room woke her; she opened her eyes but her vision was still dark. She knew she really should be worried about her eyesight but her older self, had perfect vision so she knew at some point it did come back

"Jax?" said Riley

"Yeah, still nothing?" said Jax

"Yeah, what's wrong?" said Riley

"Just cold or rather Grey is, was just hoping Gideon had something to help me sleep" said Jax

"You feel what he feels?" said Riley

"Yeah kinda goes with the whole firestorm thing, why?" said Jax

The captain stirred next to her.

"Because if you can feel what he is feeling, then the reverse should also be true" said Riley

"Huh?" said Jax

"What Miss Anderson is attempting to convey, even though she should be sleeping, is that if you are warm and toasty, Professor Stein should be likewise" said Rip

"Oh, so they're trying to break him with discomfort?" said Jax

"No, more like make him too tired to focus" said Riley

Jax climbed off the bed.

"Where are you going Mr. Jackson?" said Rip

"To get a fuzzy blanket and a huge cup of hot cocoa, Grey's gonna be as comfortable as I can make him tonight" said Jax

Riley started to sit up and Rip shoved her back into the pillows.

"You need to rest; we can't do anything else tonight" said Rip

"So do you" said Riley

He snorted and started to protest.

"Go on I'll be fine go sleep in your own bed, I know that chair can't be comfortable" said Riley

He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck

"Actually it is not but I do not mind a few hours of discomfort if it means..." said Rip

She scooted over so there was enough room on the bed for him. He swallowed nervously and wondered if she knew she was undressed; would she still make such an offer. She patted the bed next to her.

"Oh I could not Miss Anderson, we barely know each other" said Rip

He had already crossed the line when it came to gentlemanly behavior, joining her would be close to taking advantage of her. She chuckled at his response.

"You've kissed me twice now and you think lying next to me is too intimate?" said Riley

"I ah… I suppose when you word it in that manner it does sound a bit silly" said Rip

He climbed up on the bed next to her and laid down, she snuggled close to him and went back to sleep. He was acutely aware of her state of undress and quite glad her lack of sight prevented her from seeing his body's response to it.

He woke the next morning with his arms around her and her hair tickling his nose. He tried to extricate himself from his current position and he ended up falling off the bed. He heard her giggle and looked up at her because she was leaning over the edge of the bed.

"My apologies miss Anderson, I did not mean to disturb you" said Rip

Her eyesight was starting to come back because she could make out light and dark shadows. She giggled again

"Did I knock you off?" said Riley

He climbed to his feet brushing the dirt off his pant leg as he did so.

"No that was me I'm afraid, can you see me?" said Rip

She shook her head no. He almost sighed in relief because his body was still responding to her presence and he truly didn't want to have to explain himself.

"It's a little better but not by much, headaches gone though" said Riley

"Good, because there are a few things I must discuss with you Miss Anderson" said Rip

She sat up and shifted her legs out of the bed and started to climb to her feet. He rested one of his hands on her bare knee and she frowned. She had been wearing pants before, where did her pants go?

"Where are my clothes?" said Riley

"I relocated them because I want you to remain here for this task, I simply do not want to place you at any more risk" said Rip

"Wait you stripped me?" said Riley

"Well…I…um… yes" said Rip

"You had a problem sleeping next to me, yet had no issue stripping me?" said Riley

"Wait, was I naked when you slept next to me?" said Riley

She could tell he was embarrassed just by the angle he was holding his head.

"Um yeah, but I swear nothing untoward happened…I was simply trying to..." said Rip

She stood up and grabbed the man's collar and pulled him toward her.

"I don't care what you were trying to do, you're going to stop this overprotective nonsense and get me my clothes or I will show you how easy it is for me to kick someone's ass with a cup of coffee" said Riley

"It is ill advised you utilize your talents Miss Anderson, until your sight has fully recovered" said Gideon

He leaned forward toward her.

"Do what you must; I am the captain on this ship and if I feel that a member of my crew is not up to par, I will order her or him to remain onboard and I expect that order to be obeyed, is that understood Miss Anderson" said Rip

He sounded angry and it made her hesitate because usually people backed down from her threats, but then again none of these people knew her reputation and clueing them in would require she reveal who she really was, so she bit back the retort rising to her lips.

"perfectly" said Riley in a tone closer to a snarl.

Her fist was already balled, so she let it fly in the most logical location for his face to be. She was rewarded with a resounding crack and jarring pain when she connected. He let out a string of swear words.

"That's for stripping me, asshole" said Riley

He gasped in pain so she must have done some damage, pity she couldn't see it right now.

"Duly noted, miss Anderson" said Rip

She hated feeling helpless and to think someone she trusted took advantage of her when she was, just made her blood boil. She side stepped around him and headed for the door.

"miss Anderson where are you going?" said Rip

"my cabin, why?" said Riley

"need I remind you that you are unclothed" said Rip

she shrugged and walked out of the door anyway

"guess they get a show don't they" said Riley

She heard him swear behind her and follow her out of the sick bay. She heard the fabric of his jacket rustling as he apparently removed it. She ignored his presence; walked right through the flight deck and past the crew who were hashing out the plan, and right to her cabin door. He draped the jacket over her shoulders about halfway across the flight deck. She ignored the gasps and Jax's question on why she was nude.

"oh come on Miss Anderson, nothing happened I swear it" said Rip

She heard her door swish open, she pulled off his jacket and tossed it into his face and then she hit the close button, after she was clear of the door, so it closed right on Rip's face.

"oh come now, miss Anderson this is childish "said Rip

When she didn't answer him; he slammed his hand on the door and walked away swearing. She was pissed off and didn't want to be anywhere near that man now or any time in the immediate future. She had half a mind to scrap this whole plan anyways. Nothing was working out as planned. Yes, putting a knife in Savage's back had been satisfying but she knew it wasn't permanent no matter how badly she wished it were.

Then there was the whole thing with Rip, it was time to break that whole thing off which given her current mood might end in the man's death, so she needed to calm down. The problem was she couldn't do any of her usual things to vent because they either required sight or her talents, even drawing was out until her vision returned.

She wanted to scream in frustration and hated to admit it but it was probably best she remained with the ship. She was too vulnerable without her sight and Druce and his friends wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of that. She absolutely despised being useless, being told what to do or feeling helpless but right now she was experiencing all three, she let out a string of curse words and threw something at the wall hard enough to make a dent. Someone knocked on her door and she hesitated; what if it was Rip.

"who is it?" said Riley

"It's Sara, we have to talk" said Sara

Riley unlocked the door and it slid open. Sara froze in the doorway and stared in shock.

"you gonna come in or stare all day" said Riley

"um, yeah where are your clothes?" said Sara

"I don't know; Captain Hunter seems to have hidden them, not that it's hard to do right now, I wonder if I should be worried about him rearranging the furniture just as a joke" said Riley

"ah he wouldn't do that, he just wants to protect you, speaking of which I take it by the shiner he's now sporting that he told you?" said Sara

"told me what?" said Riley

"that you're not going, sorry but it was my idea... I know you want to help but someone has got to keep an eye on Kendra and Jax, and I rather you not be out there when you can't see Chronos or his friends coming" said Sara

For some reason when it came from Sara it made her less angry, probably because the woman was voicing her earlier suspicions. She heard the door to her closet open and Sara swore

"I just wanted you to know that it wasn't Rip this time, even though he did bring up a few good points, I will of course make sure your clothing is returned and have a word or two with that man" said Sara

"why?" said Riley

Sara paused as if she was trying to figure out what Riley was asking.

"why what?" said Sara

"why do you care if I am mad at him?" said Riley

Sara sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"because he needs you, we all do. You frustrate the shit out of him but you also make that man the happiest I've ever seen him…Just... I know he can be frustrating with all the overprotective bull shit but remember where he's coming from on it too, all right" said Sara

"I'll go get your clothes" said Sara

She heard the door swish open then closed again. She didn't know what to make of Sara's admission and if what she said was true, it would be devastating to the man if she broke it off with him now. She groaned why couldn't this be easy? All she wanted to do was use this group to get closer to Savage and end him.

Why did all this emotional garbage have to make this so complicated? Sara stormed into the flight deck. Rip saw her coming and backed away raising his hands in supplication.

"I swear; I can explain Miss Lance" said Rip

Sara crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the man. She didn't like it when someone took advantage of her friends and even less if it was a man doing it to a woman, especially considering how helpless said woman was at the moment.

"yeah I think we all need to hear that explanation cause I for one want to know why we all just got an eyeful of Riley in her full glory, not that I'm complaining mind you" said Jax

"better start with that explanation captain or its gonna get mighty cold in here for you" said Snart

He raised his gun and armed it.

"I was simply trying to prevent Miss Anderson from leaving the ship in her current state" said Rip

"blind or naked?" said Jax

Rip blushed

"both actually; though I doubt either will be a deterrent" said Rip

"so why not let her go with you all, it's not like she would be in any danger" said Jax

"kid has a point, if we have her hang back until after we clear out the bodyguards she should be fine" said Snart

Rip groaned and rubbed his eyes. He was tired after getting precious little sleep last night, due to his bodies reaction to having a very naked beautiful woman next to him most of the night, one that held no small amount of attraction to him right now.

"That would completely defeat the purpose of our former agreement which was to keep Miss Anderson out of the fray until she has recuperated" said Rip

"Our former agreement was that you talk to her and outline our reasons; not that you strip her to keep her on the ship" said Sara

"Hey at least he didn't tie her up, that would have been some kinky shit, unless she's into that then…yeah I'm gonna shut up now" said Jax

"If he had done that a shiner would be the least of his worries, unless of course…damn it now you've got me doing it" said Snart

"Ah yeah, ignoring that" said Sara

"Yeah I don't know, I want her there just because I don't trust Druce and his friends not to make a move while we are gone; especially with only Jax and Kendra here but I am also hesitant cause I don't want her anywhere she could get hurt" said Sara

"So just have her follow you in after you take out the guards" said Kendra

"First things first though, clothing" said Sara

She held out her hand to Rip.

"Bottom cupboard on the right, just as you enter my cabin" said Rip in a defeated voice

Sara gave him a considering look then went to retrieve the clothes while Kendra cornered Rip.

"You need to stop" said Kendra

He gave her a confused look.

"Stop what, to which activity do you refer miss Saunders" said Rip

"Treating her like she's helpless, it pisses her off and its gonna end up costing you her. Just let her handle things her way, then jump in if she can't handle something. If you don't she's eventually gonna stop forgiving you for dashing her pride and just walk away, believe me I wanted to do so with Carter so many times but something kept pulling me back to him. She doesn't have that pull, so you've got to be the reason she stays" said Kendra

Rip was staring at his feet, because yeah he knew he was making a lot of mistakes when it came to Riley but he didn't know what they were before now or how to correct them.

"Is it really that horrible that I just want to protect her?" said Rip

"yep" said Sara as she walked into the room.

she was carrying Riley's clothes. Sara disappeared down the hallway with the clothes.

"Dude it's like this, she's a strong independent woman she's had to be and now you're coming along and treating her like she can't take care of her own shit. That would piss off any woman but someone like her it's like insulting" said Jax

The door buzzed again and Riley hesitated, what if it was Rip?

"It's me Sara" said Sara

Riley crossed the room and hit the door release. It slid open and Sara walked in.

"Got your clothes and good news, you're going with us." said Sara

"Huh? How did you convince Rip to do that?" said Riley

Sara had dumped the clothes on the bed; so Riley was running her fingers through them, to figure out what was what and which way it was supposed to go on her person. She started dressing while Sara talked to her.

"We explained to him that Druce and Chronos might use this opportunity to nab you while we are gone and that you were safer with us" said Sara

Riley frowned she had thought of that which meant that Druce most likely would as well, it was plausible which meant she had made this ship a target without meaning to. She nodded in agreement and then stood to pull up her pants. She reasoned Snart had been the most vocal about her inclusion. Somewhere on this trip she seemed to have earned the man's trust, which was surprising given that he didn't appear to trust anyone except Rory.


	18. Chapter 18

Wave 18

Everyone was standing around when they entered the flight deck. She could barely make out who was who based on their shadows and stance. Rip was standing off to the side looking dejected and Riley realized it was because he had tried and failed to protect her. While his efforts were annoying to her in the extreme, it also struck a chord in her because she had never had anyone care enough about her to protect her.

It was also worrying because it was more proof that he was already attached. She really needed to hurry up and save his family so she could redirect his focus away from her. Unfortunately, a part of her didn't want to let him go. That was beginning to worry her as well.

Truthfully she was worried about leaving the ship with only Jax, who didn't have any powers without Stein and Kendra to guard it. In all honesty she wasn't much good to them right now and might even be a liability if Chronos and Druce's forces came calling.

"So how're we gonna do this?" said Jax

He was looking right at Riley when he said it. Riley wasn't sure what she wanted to do now. They needed this man's help to get into the prison but the ship was vulnerable with most of the fighters gone.

"We're going to shut the ship down and essentially blend in, I can get Gideon to match the readings for a home on the local power grid but she will be running on mostly auxiliary which means nothing but the camouflage, sensors and weapons, I have already set the weapons systems to respond to you two" said Rip

He pointed at Kendra and Jax. Riley frowned because she could tell who was who now which meant her sight was coming back.

"Great so let's head to the spa already" said Snart

"Not so fast, here this will enable you to communicate with the ship and us, in an emergency" said Rip

He tucked something into Riley's ear brushing her hair back as he did so.

"For the record; I think this is a very bad idea and would rather you remained on the ship…. but I am willing to acquiesce to my shipmate's demands; so long as you agree to heed mine" said Rip

"Okay, what are they?" said Riley

There was no way she was just going to agree to something without knowing what it was first.

"I want you to stay close and if at any time any of us feel this is too dangerous for you, you're to book it back to the ship understood?" said Rip

she chuckled at his request because without her sight finding the ship would be impossible.

"I am not kidding Riley, there is nothing humorous in that statement" said Rip

"Actually yeah there is, you just told a blind woman to run back to a ship she can't even see" said Jax

"I would guide her Mr. Jackson plus we will be quite close to the bath house, so she will have no issue retracing her steps" said Gideon

She was still giggling when she answered because Jax was right he had done the equivalent of telling a blind person to look at something plus Gideon sounded completely exasperated when she replied.

"Fine I promise, feel better now?" said Riley

"Marginally but it will have to suffice" said Rip

They headed for the door with Riley in between them like some sort of honor guard. Rip and Snart entered first because the man in question, a Mr. Yuri Drakov, affectionately known as the bear, was yet to arrive. The guys were going to hang out in the sauna room until Yuri showed, then attempt to convince him to help them free the others. Sara would be entering the locker rooms to take out his bodyguards, while Riley sat in the lounge reserved for wives and girlfriends, until Sara said it was clear.

Truthfully it sounded boring; if the girls that hung out with Russian mobsters were anything like the girls she had met in America, they were mostly eye candy and stupid to boot. Riley walked in a few minutes later when Sara gave the signal and took a seat in the lounge.

There was only one other woman until a group of people walked in. Several guys and one woman, she was clinging all over a larger man and Riley was fairly certain this was Yuri. Even with her eyesight as bad as it was the man was still a fairly impressive shadow.

"You go buy something no need to wait, I will be awhile" said the man "But Yuri…" she whined

Riley winced because the woman's voice was like nails on a chalk board.

"No buts go, Anton pay her" said the man

He walked through the door without a backward glance. The woman looked stricken or at least from her body language and anguished voice she sounded that way.

"Here go buy yourself something nice, don't come back" said Anton

With a whimper the woman took the cash and left. The bodyguards followed Yuri into the room and Sara walked in a second later. Riley pointed in the direction of the door and Sara gave her a confused look

"Lights and shadows now go" said Riley

Sara nodded and Riley moved to keep anyone from following her into the locker area. She heard the sounds of a fight happening then Sara poked her head out the door.

"Its clear come on in" said Sara

Riley quickly entered and Sara barricaded the door. Sara walked towards the opposite door stepping over fallen guards as she did so. Riley carefully did the same and followed Sara through the door.

"Seriously, I just took out six guys and you two couldn't handle one" said Sara

Riley walked in and found Rip in some sort of fighting stance and Snart by the back wall, both were wearing only towels.

"You killed my men?" said Yuri

He sounded upset about it

"Not yet, that depends on how you answer us" said Sara

Riley was eyeing the big man her eyesight was mostly back now which she attributed to an overabundance of her element in the air, humidity that was all she needed, go figure. She noted that he had numerous tattoos and had an inkling of what the problem could be.

Mobsters like this man and the Yakusa, saw tattoos as a sign of respect most of which told a man's life story if you examined them close enough

"I have already given my answer I trust no one without ink and your men cannot even best me, so no is your answer" said Yuri

"Ink?" said Sara

"Tattoos Sara, none of us have any as you can plainly see" said Rip

The way he said the word it was as if he thought the idea preposterous or barbaric. Sara frowned because she didn't have any tattoos either. She glanced at Snart and he shook his head in the negative.

"Don't care for needles" said Snart

"Will this suffice?" said Riley

She had removed an armband to reveal a tattooed bracelet like arm band and one word. The big man frowned but eyed the design with interest.

"What does maire mean, is it a name?" said Yuri

"No it is not a name, it means survive in a mostly dead language" said Riley

She shoved the armband into her pocket, she would reaffix it later. "Why you write that?" said Yuri

"It's a personal reminder that you can survive anything; you just have to keep getting up no matter how many times you get knocked down, now about that second half of your…criteria" said Riley

Yuri laughed; when he realized she was rolling up her sleeves like she intended to fight him.

"You... I would break you like twig…you" said Yuri

He never got to finish that sentence because Riley hit him right in the solar plexus and then dislocated his wrist with a well-aimed blow; followed by another blow to his knee that did the same. The man hit one knee and looked like he was proposing or something.

Yuri gasped as pain blossomed in several locations on his body at once and he did not even see the girl move.

"Arrgh! what you do to my wrist?" said Yuri

He was cradling the limb with his other hand because for some reason he no longer had feeling in the limb.

"Dislocated it, now would you like me to tell your friends outside that a ninety-pound blind woman kicked your ass or would you rather help us help you?" said Riley

Rip and Snart were grinning with suppressed laughter. Yuri eyed the girl for a few minutes taking in Sara's stance behind her as well.

"Koshmar is not a hotel for petty criminals, if your friends are there they must be insane ruthless animals" said Yuri

Riley gave him a wicked smirk in response and Yuri shifted uneasily.

"Fine what you need?" said Yuri

Rip took over outlining what they needed and Yuri agreed to most everything.

"I tell girl last part, if she agrees to dinner" said Yuri

Riley hesitated for a few seconds than thought of their friends who were most likely being tortured right now.

"Fine where and when?" said Riley

"Tonight, I pick you up from…" said Yuri

"The park" said Riley

Rip looked less than happy about the idea but they needed Yuri's help so he reluctantly gave in.

"Thank god, I hate the heat" said Snart

He headed for the locker room presumably to change. Yuri was settling on one of the benches so Rip started guiding Riley towards the door. She looked down and noted how the sweat was glistening off his skin, the numerous scars on his back and the fact his towel was barely staying up. He caught her looking and frowned at her.

"Nice towel" said Riley with a smirk before walking through the door.

"Wait you can see me?" said Rip after he followed her through the door. Snart was there and was pulling his shirt on as they entered.

"She can see again?" said Snart

"Yep, I can see you in all your sweaty glory" said Riley

"So when you fought Yuri, which by the way you should have let me handle, you could see?" said Sara

"Partially; everything was a bit out of focus but yes its mostly restored" said Riley

Snart headed for the door.

"I'll catch you ladies back at the ship" said Snart and he walked out the door with a smirk.

Rip had his hand on the locker door and was eying Riley nervously for some reason. I probably had to do with that wicked grin she was still sporting.

"Ah can you two wait outside, I've got to change" said Rip

Sara gave Riley a look and both women smirked.

"Nope, turnabout is fair play love; you already got a free show, now it's my turn" said Riley

She leaned on one of the lockers and smirked at the man. He hesitated for a few seconds then opened his locker.

"Okay, fine" said Rip

He turned his back to her. He pulled out his clothes and then reached for his towel. He hesitated and with a smirk Riley snagged it and pulled it off.

"Hey what the…." said Rip, in what amounted to a yelp

He tried to hide behind the locker door somewhat and kept his back to her.

"Thought you could use a little help" said Riley

"No I have quite got it covered, thank you" said Rip

"not anymore" said Sara

"Ah… yeah… um…Miss Anderson" said Rip

He sounded embarrassed but Riley did not care it was time for a bit of pay back.

Sara chuckled behind her.

"I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes" said Sara

She turned punched one of Yuri's rising guards and walked out of the locker area.

Riley smiled and then reached out and casually ran her fingers over one of the scars on his back in a tactile and deliberate caress. He closed his eyes and relaxed into her touch.

"Ah Riley. what are you…." said Rip

She closed the distance between them and Rip took a step back and into the locker door.

"What's the matter captain, I thought you wanted to be close to me?" said Riley

She leaned into him and he swallowed nervously.

"I do …I just…Now really isn't the…." said Rip

She pressed her lips to his and rested her hand on his hip and he stopped protesting, raised his hands slowly and pulled her closer to him. He was responding to her just the way she wanted him to, she had him right where she wanted him. She pulled back when she felt something hard pressing against her thigh. He was gasping and she was pretty sure he had moaned at least once.

He wanted more and if she wasn't so mad at him right now, she probably would have given him some. She gave him a wicked smirk and stepped away from him.

"Turnabout is fair play captain, too bad for you I never play fair; do try and remember that the next time" said Riley

She turned and walked out of the room leaving a very frustrated and confused Captain Hunter in her wake, as he tried to pull on his clothes despite his bodies response to Riley's proximity once again. He pulled his shirt on shoved his feet in his shoes and was pulling on the jacket as he headed for the door.

He exited the building in a huff, just what the hell was that woman playing at? He crossed the street turned the corner and entered a vacant lot. He gave a quick glance around before ducking inside the ship. The first one he ran into was Jax.

"Where is Miss Anderson?" said Rip

"Getting ready for her…date, whoa man what happened?" said Jax

He pointed down and Rip quickly pulled his jacket closed.

"Miss Anderson happened; now where is the woman?" said Rip

"Ah most likely the fabrication room, so how did it go other than…ah yeah" said Jax

Rip sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Not as well as I had hoped, fortunately Miss Anderson was able to secure Mr. Drakov's trust; where as we failed in the endeavor, now if you will excuse me I need to have a word with a certain vexing female" said Rip

He flounced away and Jax laughed at his retreating back and headed for the engine room. He had been memorizing the manual for the Wave Rider because he found the engine completely fascinating and because he didn't want the others to see how worried he was about Grey.

Rip and the others had assured them that Rory and Ray were likely being kept alive as leverage and he knew the old man was tough. He was certain the man could resist if he was the one being hurt but that altruistic part of him would rebel at others being hurt in his stead. They really needed to hurry up and rescue them.

Rip climbed the stairs. He really needed to talk to that insufferable woman before she stepped off of his ship. Riley agreed to go on this date, the only problem was he didn't trust Yuri as far as he could throw the man, let alone with his…. He stopped; When did he start thinking of Riley as his? He groaned because he was falling for the woman's game and had no idea how to turn it back to his favor.

"Gideon where is Miss Anderson?" said Rip

"She is in the fabrication room trying on several styles of what she referred to as a little black dress." said Gideon

"Oh hell no, she is not wearing that!" said Rip

He headed straight for the fabrication room.


	19. Chapter 19

Wave 19

Riley was just pulling on one of the high heels she had selected to go with the dress she had chosen. She had deliberately chosen the shortest and tightest dress she could find. Gideon had balked at her choices of course, which is why she overrode her choice parameters and set her own.

Rip might think he had control of Gideon once again but it was just an illusion she chose to let him have. She had no doubt Captain Hunter had a hand in limiting her choices to things that had an almost Victorian level of coverage.

Which is why she was defiantly choosing to do otherwise. He walked in just as she tightened the strap on the other heel. He paused and just stared at her for a few minutes

"Please tell me you are not seriously considering wearing that" said Rip She could hear the jealousy in his tone and firmly resisted the urge to laugh at him.

"why ever not?" said Riley in her most innocent tone.

She knew why of course, she just wanted to hear him say it. He gave her a level look as if he thought she was dense.

"He just wants to get you into bed, if you wear that he'll think that he can" said Rip

He sounded exasperated.

"As if you're not trying to do the same" said Riley

He frowned in response and then narrowed his eyes in anger. She snorted and walked towards the mirror so she could check her make-up.

"Unless of course that's what you intend to do and I would at least heed your wishes should you say no" said Rip

He left it implied that he thought she was a slut if she did sleep with the man.

"and if I did?" said Riley

He bit his bottom lip and gave her an angry look.

"Then you aren't the woman I thought you were" said Rip

She snorted again because that was the first sensible thing the captain had said so far on this trip. She added bright red lipstick to her lips and smacked them together. She was enjoying messing with the man she truly was, he was just so easy to tease. She picked up the small purse, she picked to go with the outfit and flung it over her shoulder.

"Maybe I'm not" said Riley

She started walking for the door and he blocked her path with his arm. "What are you doing?" said Rip

She gave him a confused look because he had partially lost her.

"Leaving for my date" said Riley

Rip shook his head as if he didn't believe her.

"You know that's not what I meant, why are you playing games with me Miss Anderson?" said Rip

She gave him a level look.

"What makes you think I'm playing?" said Riley

He shook his head at her halfhearted attempt at diffusing.

"Fine have it your way, just do me a favor please be careful, that man is dangerous don't underestimate him" said Rip

She smirked at him because truthfully she had thought the same way, which is why she had a few knives tucked away on her person.

"Thank you for your concern, but I am fully capable of defending myself, now if you'll excuse me I'd rather they don't see which direction I am coming from" said Riley

Rip nodded in response but he looked less than happy that she was still going. She started to walk past again but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She gave him an exasperated look and he responded with a smile.

"What is it now? You're going to make me late" said Riley

He reached up and shoved a strand of hair back into its clip and at the same time slipped one more matching one into her hair, except this one had a listening device tucked inside it.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you look and to have a nice evening" said Rip

She gave him a confused look because he had all but been calling her a slut a few minutes ago. He was up to something she just had no idea what it was, with a frown she walked out of the room and headed for the exit.

"Game on Miss Anderson, game on" said Rip

He followed her to the door waited until it closed and then ran up the stairs to the flight deck.

"Gideon?" said Rip

"She has just exited the alleyway adjacent to the lot sir and is on the way down the street to the park" said Gideon

"Is Mr. Snart in position?" said Rip

"Yes sir, he reports that Mr. Drakov does indeed have a reservation for the restaurant" said Gideon

"Good, tell him to remain out of sight but to keep an eye on her" said Rip

"She ain't gonna like this" said Jax

"Yes of that I am aware but my conscience will not allow me to do otherwise, which reminds me, not a word of this gets mentioned to her is that understood" said Rip

He pinned the younger man with a glare

"Fine man, it's your funeral if she finds out" said Jax

The younger man walked away from him leaving Rip on the flight deck alone.

"Captain would you like me to patch in the audio feed?" said Gideon "Yes please make sure that it is one way though, wouldn't want to give ourselves away now would we" said Rip

Riley was fuming of all the insufferable…argh he was the most pig headed prat she had ever met. She was swearing and calling Rip every name but his own as she trudged down the street. Have a good evening indeed, seriously the only reason she was doing this was for the information Yuri promised and if she had to sleep with the man to get it she was not above doing so. Though Mr. Yuri would be having performance issues if it came to that she muttered.

She walked into the park and waited. A shiver passed through her, she knew she should have opted for the jacket. A car came into view and slowed to a stop next to her. One of the bodyguards from last night got out and walked around the car to hold her door open for her. She quickly climbed inside the vehicle glad of its warmth.

Yuri was seated across from her and was wearing an expensive looking suit.

"You look lovely this evening miss…" said Yuri

She smirked when she remembered she had never given the man her name.

"Anderson, Riley Anderson" said Riley

It wouldn't matter if Yuri looked her up in this time period or any other in the twentieth century all he would find is an article about a research assistant disappearing around the same time her professor did the same. Most likely the dumb asses would think they eloped or something equally stupid. Fortunately, they would never find a body so murder couldn't be pinned on her. Yuri smiled at her slight show of trust.

"Yuri Drakov" said Yuri

She smirked in response and decided to make small talk because there were a few things she did wish to know.

"So why do they call you the bear?" said Riley

Yuri smiled at her question

"Size mostly and a certain vicious reputation amongst my enemies, nothing you have to worry about" said Yuri

She mentally noted the implication that he did not consider her an enemy and filed it away for later. Perhaps having an alley in the criminal underworld would be useful one day. The car slowed to a stop before she could ask any more and once again the bodyguard was opening the door for her. She stood on the sidewalk waiting for Yuri to climb out of the car. She was shivering by the time he finally climbed out of the car and ambled around to where she was.

"You should have thought to bring a jacket my dear, Russian autumn is almost as bad as winter, Yako give the young woman your coat I know you always carry a spare" said Yuri

Riley started to protest, but Yako ignored her and draped a heavy wool pea coat around her shoulders.

"Come they have the best Shchi here, just like mother used to make" said Yuri

He put his arm around her waist and guided her towards the door. The maître de greeted Yuri by name and guided them to a secluded table in a separate section complete with candlelight and both bodyguards took up positions on either side of the entrance to the section. Yuri pulled out her chair for her and then shoved it back in when she took her seat. Yuri took his seat and waited for the waiter to leave the menus before he said anything more.

"So what is the real story, why do you want to destroy Savage?" said Yuri

Riley smirked the big man wasn't as dense as he appeared good she hated dumb people. She looked around to make sure no one was within ear shot.

"He killed our families" said Riley

"Our?" said Yuri

"Mine and Rip's" said Riley

Yuri nodded in understanding.

"The small man, he is yours then?' said Yuri

Riley hesitated because she really didn't think of Rip as hers and wasn't sure what their relationship really was.

"Ah it's a bit complicated" said Riley

Yuri nodded again.

"He still mourns I can see it in his eyes, that is why he fears to lose you" said Yuri

He sighed and leaned back in his chair the waiter was approaching, so he waited to say more until after he ordered for both of them. As long as he didn't order the borsch she was fine with it, she truly hated beets.

"What makes you say that?" said Riley

Yuri smiled at her in response.

"Fourth wife acted same way you do, did not want to admit she liked me at all, took me a long time to win her trust but it was worth it. Small one has that stubborn streak. He will not let go once he sets sights on something I sense this about him, it is a good thing" said yuri

Riley gave him a considering look. If what he said was true, then she had more of a problem then she realized. She swallowed nervously and the took a healthy swig of the wine.

"This does not please you?" said Yuri

She sighed and considered how she was going to word this without giving Yuri false hope.

"No because it only means he's going to get hurt when this is all over" said Riley

"What you mean?" said Yuri

Riley sighed

"Let's just say it would be better for his health if he ran in the opposite direction" said Riley

"Why you say that?" said Yuri

Riley downed some more wine

"Because everyone I love dies and I would rather he be out there safe than to risk losing him" said Riley

Rip lowered his head her words bringing tears instantly to his eyes. It was no wonder she was pulling away from him.

Yuri took a swig of his wine and regarded the woman across from him. "He will not run, is not that kind of a man, you care for him enough to give up your happiness for his, which proves that you are his already" said Yuri

Rip nodded the Russian was right, there was no way he would forsake her now.

She frowned at the man because she in no way liked to be considered someone's property, let alone someone she wasn't even dating. She snorted

"We are just friends" said Riley but that sounded defensive even to her ears.

Yuri chuckled and was still chuckling when they brought out two huge baskets of bread and two tureens filled with the most delicious soup she had ever smelt.

"Oh wow that smells divine" said Riley

Both the smell of the soup and the fresh baked bread served to remind her that she had eaten precious little today, besides she truly didn't want to talk about Rip right now. For some reason it made her feel guilty and she had done nothing to earn that feeling yet.

She picked up her spoon and blew on it to cool off the soup on it. The soup was some sort of cabbage vegetable affair that reminded vaguely of corned beef and cabbage but with a way different flavor. Yuri was breaking pieces of the bread and dipping it in the bowl, using the bread to scoop up pieces of vegetables like a makeshift spoon, so Riley decided to try it his way. When in Rome and all that.

She never thought bread could be this delicious, she could happily eat an entire loaf of the stuff without any topping what so ever. When accompanied by the soup it was the singularly best meal she had ever had, it even beat out her first taste of candy.

She was even disappointed when the bowl eventually ran empty but that didn't stop her from eating the rest of the bread in the basket. Yuri chuckled when he caught her checking the basket for more of it.

"Tis good Ya?" said Yuri

"Oh yeah the best I've ever had, if your mother really cooked like this it's a wonder you ever left home" said Riley

"I shall pass on the compliment; she will enjoy the praise" said Yuri

The man smiled and leaned back in the chair let out a huge belch then reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Here this is what you came for and I wish small man much luck, is hard to breach walls when they are so high the owner no longer knows they are there" said Yuri

He downed the rest of his wine and Riley did the same because the wine was also very good. Hell this could easily be her new favorite restaurant and that soup and bread was worth crossing time over. She picked up the paper and shoved it into her purse, then gave Yuri a confused look.

Isn't this where the guy holds out on giving the information so he can get the girl in bed. Yuri smiled at her and reached across the table to cover her hands with his.

"we are friends now, ya?" said Yuri

she nodded yes because she was beginning to see the man as a friend

"word of advice from a friend, stop running or you never will stop" said Yuri

He gave her a sad look and for a minute, she was certain Yuri somehow knew what she had planned and was somehow telling her not to do it.

"Okay, will consider that advice" said Riley

She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to say to that statement. The man nodded and motioned for the waiter to bring the check. The man did so and quickly scurried away. Yuri pulled out a handful of bills set several of them on the bill and then stood. She was surprised to see no tip but reasoned it was an American thing.

"Had fun, should do this again sometime" said Yuri

"So did I, thank you for a lovely meal" said Riley

She wasn't sure what one was supposed to do at this point because she had never really dated before this. He led them out to the car and once again the bodyguard held the door for her. She climbed in and Yuri did the same.

Despite the jacket she could still feel the cold quite keenly. She fervently wished she had chosen something other than a dress to wear, something with pants preferably. Yuri was staring at her for some reason and it was beginning to get unnerving. He nodded for some reason and then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card.

"Here if you decide to not heed my advice and run anyway; this is my nephews number he will help you if you need it" said Yuri

"Thank you that's very thoughtful of you" said Riley

She took the card from his hand, it was a plain business card with a phone number written on it. She tucked that in her purse as well, somewhat touched by the gesture. She also memorized the number just in case the card was lost because it looked familiar.

The car pulled up to the park and once again the driver held the door for her. She got out and found Snart waiting for her. The driver started to get back in, then she remembered she was wearing the man's coat. "Wait your jacket" said Riley

"Keep it, consider it a gift" said Yako

He climbed back in the car and it pulled away.

"How did it go?" said snart

"Great it was easier than I thought it was going to be" said Riley "Meaning you didn't have to sleep with him?" said snart

She nodded yes

"Yep pretty much" said Riley

"Good, I'm glad you didn't have to go that far" said Snart

Riley glanced in his direction and noticed he had a bit of cabbage on his shirt.

"you followed me?" said Riley

He had the audacity to look shocked

"Naw, I know you can totally take care of…yourself" said Snart

She pulled the cabbage off his shirt and held it up.

"I can totally explain that…yeah okay you caught me, sorry was a bit concerned he wasn't the type of guy to take no for an answer" said Snart

The man shrugged as if he didn't care.

"Did Rip put you up to it?" said Riley

Snart snorted

"No actually he wanted to bug you, following you was my idea, your welcome" said Snart

She gave him a wry look

"why, what would you have done if he didn't?" said Riley

Snart turned back to her.

"Ice them, literally no one messes with my crew, teammates whatever" said Snart

He started walking away and that's when Riley remembered what he had said. Rip had wanted to bug her, hold on a second.

Flashback, Riley 10 years old

She was walking across the overpass after having just escaped from the time masters and their messed up school. She was slowly stripping off everything they gave her and chucking it over the rail. Shoes, watch, hair ties; then last but not least the clothing, hopefully some of the tracking devices would lodge on passing cars and confuse those tracking her. Drivers on the road way next to her honked, fortunately it was before cell phones so no one could call the cops on her. She spotted a bank and quickly shorted out the machine and used her talent to pry it open. She grabbed a wad of bills and headed for the first store she spotted.

She was drawing way too much attention like this. The doors to the discount store swished open and the lady behind the courtesy desk stared in shock as a naked kid walked right past her. She headed for the kids section grabbed under garments, sandals, leggings and a t shirt that read I survived the end of the world and all I got was a t shirt.

She pulled off the tags dropped them on the counter in electronics, in front of a surprised clerk with a pile of cash; then took her purchases into the bathroom to change. She disappeared into a stall pulled on the clothes and shoes. Then walked out to find security standing there.

"Miss are you all right? I've called the police…. I need you to come…."said the guard

She used the water from the fountain to fling him into a wall and walked out. Now all she had to do was hide for a while until she could build something to contact her friends.

6 months prior to the escape

She was running down a street they were right behind her she could practically feel their breath on the back of her neck. She was certain they had already captured her friends and now they were after her. She darted across the street just before the light changed, slid down an embankment and into a drainage culvert.

She quickly darted into the nearest pipe and kept going. Thankful that she was still tiny enough to fit into such a small space. A gate at the end stopped her and she turned to go back. She saw a flashlight and pressed herself against the wall.

"You can come out now, there is nowhere for you to go" said the female time master.

Riley was terrified, after all of the things John and the others had told her about these people she definitely didn't want to be captured by them but to get out of this she had to think.

She forced the fear away and felt the environment around her. Just like those idiots at the training camp had taught her. She could feel the two time masters outside the pipe entrance but where were the other two? She shrugged it off and focused on the water she felt behind her.

She called it to her then forced it through the pipe at a high rate of speed aimed right at the two time masters, she hoped they enjoyed the smell of sewage. She quickly followed it out and ran away from the two downed time masters who were now covered in slimy foul scented water and swearing profusely.

She giggled and started climbing an access ladder, she got to the top and turned to run once more; when someone yelled at her. She turned and a blinding light hit her, it made her pass out, but before she did she heard one of the teenagers say.

"Got her, we're about twenty clicks down at the top of an access ladder, Cadet Hunter out" said the boy

He was standing over the kid when the two senior time masters climbed up the ladder.

"Good work cadet, now if you will be so kind; pick up our latest recruit" said master druce

"Ew, what happened to you two? You reek" said another teenager "That would be our new recruits doing, she somehow managed to redirect a sewage pipe in our direction Cadet Baxter" said mistress Leardon

"Resourceful as well as light" said Hunter

"She's so tiny I wonder how old she is?" said Baxter

"About seven or eight I would guess, she certainly led us on a merry chase. I wonder how she ended up with pirates in the first place" said Leardon

Druce snorted, " doesn't matter she's one of us now or will be shortly" said Druce

Hunter had the girl flung over one shoulder as they made their way back to the ships.

"The holding cells on the Acheron are full at the moment so you will have to take her Druce" said Leardon

"Fine I'll meet you back at the vanishing point" said druce

With a sigh the teenaged hunter followed druce on board his ship and secured the girl in a cell.

"perhaps we should bind her, just in case?" said hunter

"naw she'll be fine" said druce, with a chuckle

"Are we really recruiting her? she is a filthy pirate" said hunter

"Yes she is at the moment but you were also a filthy gutter snipe when we found you, speaking of filthy I'm going to shower and change. You're in charge until I return"said druce

She woke in a metal room and immediately knew where she was, in the holding cell of one of those time ships. She went to the force field and looked into the other cells. They were empty which meant they had separated her from the crew for some reason.

She opened the side panel and immediately tried to override the door lock. She had almost gotten it, when she heard footsteps and froze.

"Very good, most of the new recruits just huddle in the corner looking terrified but not you, what makes you so special?" said the boy

"I've been on a time ship before" said Riley with a roll of her eyes.

she looked him over from head to toe. Short cut dark brown hair and some sort of military style uniform adorned him.

"Come to gloat time geek?" said Riley

The guy smirked at her.

"name's Hunter and you are?" said hunter

She hesitated and then decided to give her current moniker because she liked the sound of it.

"Lorelei" said Riley

The boy smirked

"You're named after a siren?" said hunter

She smirked at him, showing her sharpened teeth. The boy stepped back some.


	20. Chapter 20

Wave 20

She ignored the taunt and decided to try for some information. Something wasn't right here and it was making her uneasy.

"Where are my friends?" said Riley

The boy snorted.

"In a cage where they belong, on the other ship, and most likely heading for the gallows soon after we arrive" said Hunter in a non -chalant manner that angered her.

Yeah her friends were ruthless pirates and may be considered the scum of the earth by many people but they had treated her decently.

"Why ain't I with them?" said Riley

"Because you're going to be joining us instead" said another man

This one was older maybe about thirty at the most. She honestly could never tell ages on adults. She crossed her arms and glared at the newcomer.

"What if I don't want to join you?" said Riley

The kid next to him snorted as if what she said was preposterous. The old guy frowned at her in response.

"Well I am afraid the council will not give you much choice in that matter, you are too young to be tried as an adult and with no family it would be irresponsible to release you into the world without some sort of adult supervision" said the older one

"I have a family, who told you I didn't?" said Riley

Okay so technically it was a lie but kids go missing all the time, so it was a reasonable stretch that the pirates could have kidnapped her. In fact, John had encouraged her to go with that as a story should she be caught. She had even looked up kidnapped and missing kids, and found a few that matched her description. After weeding out the ones that were taken by a non -custodial parent, she had a few names of kids whose bodies were never found or later found dead but only after a long time from which to draw on.

"No one, we just assumed you were street kid they picked up" said Hunter

The older one groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"What's your last name?" said the older one

"Pence, Loreli Pence" said Riley

"Master Druce" said The older one

"This complicates things, I've got to go make a few calls watch her Hunter" said Druce

The teenager sighed and sat down across from her cell on the floor and the older one left. She assumed he was going to call his superiors and check her story. With the kid across from her she couldn't work on the lock, but maybe she could trick the kid into opening it for her. She had to intercept that other ship before they reached wherever it was they were going or her friends would die.

"So what gives with the uniform you some sort of butler or something?" said Riley Okay she knew the kid wasn't but truthfully she was bored, so messing with the junior time master was amusing.

"I'm a time master in training not a servant, same as you would have been had you no family to return to" said Hunter

"Why would that make a difference?" said Riley

Okay so she was curious now and wanted to see if any of the rumors were true.

"We only accept orphans" said Hunter

She had been right, the time masters viewed their people as expendable. She sank to the floor and sat across from the boy.

"So they might send me home?" said Riley

She kept her tone hopeful but still wary because truthfully she didn't trust any time master, even if he was only a few years older than her.

"Doubtful" said the older one, as he came back down the stairs again.

"I took the liberty to look up your timeline, your mother is in an insane asylum and there is no one else who can take you in, I'm sorry you're our responsibility now, we've been ordered to drop you off at the sanctuary" said Druce "Sanctuary?" said Riley

"It's where they put the kids too young to go to the academy but you won't have much of a wait you're nearly the right age to begin your training" said Hunter "Training to do what?" said Riley

She knew the answer but just wanted them to say it.

"As a time master" said the older one

She started laughing at them. The idea of her as a time master was just too funny for her to hold it in any longer. She was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. They were both staring at her like she had lost her mind because she was now laying on the floor laughing like an insane person.

"Why is that so funny you would have three square meals a day and a bed to sleep in every night" said Hunter

She giggled again, seriously this was their recruitment strategy.

"I had my own cabin and could eat any damn time I wanted, you sound like a brochure you should give up the time master gig and sell used cars" said Riley

The boy snorted.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted" said Druce, with a roll of his eyes.

If she was going to do something she had to do it soon. She waited for the older man to leave.

"I have to pee" she announced in a matter of fact voice.

The boy sighed and stood up.

"Only if you promise to behave" said Hunter

She gave him a level glare in response.

"Where am I going to run to, we're in flight" said Riley

The boy sighed and lowered the force field and Riley booked it into the nearest restroom.

"It's right in…never mind" said Hunter

"Leave the door…." said Hunter

"What are you a pervert?" said Riley

She closed the door and locked it. Shorted out the camera in the sink area, peed because she honestly hadn't lied about that part, then started using the water pipes in the bathroom to find the ships cooling system, and cut down the coolant flow to the engine before she opened the door to exit the bathroom.

Alarms started going off and the boy swore, he turned to reach for the intercom and Riley liberated the flasher device from his waistband.

"What's going on?" said Hunter

"Ah engines overheating for some reason, Max says there's a coolant blockage or something can you check it out?" said Druce

"Yeah sure I'll be right there" said Hunter

She waited till he removed his hand from the button and tapped his shoulder. He turned to say something to her and she used the device to knock the boy out. Took the handcuffs off his side and tied him to one of the rails. She climbed the stairs weapon in hand, now all she had to do was take out the elder one. The door to the flight deck swished open.

"I thought I told you to…" said Druce

she flashed him and the time master went limp in the pilot's chair. She crossed the room removed several panels and promptly disabled the ship's AI, shoved Druce out of the pilot's chair and handcuffed him to one of the other jump seats then took his place.

She released the coolant but the engine was still too hot, so she took the ship out of jump. She wasn't sure where they were but it was certain that they were going to crash. They materialized over the ocean and she promptly aimed for the shore, then abandoned ship and headed for the jump ship. Druce was waking as she passed.

"Sorry decided to decline the job offer, have fun crashing now" said Riley

She heard the chain rattle behind her and swearing. She passed by the brig entrance and called

"Might want to hang on time geek, your crashing now, ta, ta" said Riley

She entered the jump ship and took off in it. After some tweaking she had the ship on manual and plotted an intercept course for the Acheron. She emerged a few seconds before they reached the vanishing point and promptly took out their flight controls and weapons before she hailed them.

"I have just disabled your flight controls; you have three minutes to load all of my crewmates into the jump ship or the next shot I make will disable your life support" said Riley

"Where is time master Druce?" said the time lady

"Crashing somewhere on a beach, don't know when I disabled the AI, I'm sure they will call if they survive, now about my friends" said Riley

The older woman hesitated.

"If you disable life support your friends will die too" said the woman

Riley smirked at the woman

"Not if I hit you just right, now give me my friends or I will climb over your corpses to get them" said Riley

The woman frowned then with a sigh said "very well, I will release them shortly"

The woman disconnected the com and Riley tapped her fingers on the armrest impatiently. A few minutes later their jump ship launched off the Acheron. Riley quickly contacted it, to confirm it was her friends and not the time masters making a run for it.

"John?" said Riley

"Yeah button it's us, you okay?" said John

She sighed in relief.

"Great let's get out of here before their friends show up, you first I'll meet you at warehouse 13" said Riley

She used their code names for one of their treasure stashes and safe houses, just in case either ship was still recording. She watched them jump and then punched in the codes to do the same, she was just about to hit the lever when three time ships appeared in front of her ship.

She swore profusely and still considered doing the jump but more than likely they would just follow her, so she recalculated to a neutral point. If she still made the jump, she could always make multiple jumps to throw off her pursuers and if they took the ship they would not have John's location.

Her communication board lit up and she debated on just ignoring them for a few minutes. They probably wanted to gloat or get her to betray her friends anyway. Two more buttons lit up and she swore. Of all the annoying… she hit the button "What?" said Riley, in the most irritated and petulant voice she could muster.

"Shut down your engines and prepare to be boarded" said the time master

Riley giggled.

"Okay give me a second, not sure what goes into preparing for a boarding" said Riley

She switched off the com. She eyed the three ships, the Acheron wasn't a threat with its engines disabled but the three in front of her were fully armed. She might be able to disable two of them, but odds are the third would do some serious damage.

Decision made, she grabbed the controls and instead of shutting down her engines; she floored them right for the lead ship. One of the other ones opened fire but she was already turning so the lead ship was between her and it. They ended up hitting their friends instead.

She rolled over the top of it and opened fire. Taking out the lead ships guns before doing the same to the ship next to it. The third ship stopped firing when it realized not only was she too close to the other ships but her shields were overlapping with theirs, so she had the added protection of their shields too. Two down one to go.

She faked like she was going to go for its weapons systems too and the other ship turned quickly and fired back. Her systems abruptly started powering down and she could hear a hiss which meant she was venting oxygen. Whatever they hit her with was wreaking havoc with her ship's systems. If she made a jump now she risked the ship breaking apart underneath her. She still considered making the jump anyways, her fingers poised over the button that would commit her to the course she was considering, when the ship shuttered.

One of them had her in a tractor beam, her glance fell on the airlock door and she considered for a moment just opening it. Letting the oxygen leave the ship in a rush, one last act of defiance that she wasn't sure she was ready to make just yet.

Swearing she left the pilots chair and looked for anything she could use as a weapon and a blindfold. The flashers would only work if she could see the flare and the trainers had taught her to fight blind because some of her fellow recruits had abilities that reduced visibility. In the end she settled on a fire axe and what looked like welding goggles.

She quickly pulled them on as the ship touched down in the cargo hold of the larger of the three ships. The door slid open to her ship and she heard footsteps. She darted forward swinging the axe as she came.

She heard someone exclaim

"Oh shit! she's got an axe!" and felt the axe connect with something metal.

She felt the metal give way so she darted forward and through where the door would be.

"Blast her" said another

"I can't she's blindfolded it won't work" said another

She could feel the heat from a weapon discharging and dodged away from it.

"Damn it, just freeze her before she kills someone" said another

She swung for one of the voices and then for some reason couldn't move at all. She fought to free herself for all that she was worth and couldn't even curse when someone ripped the blindfold from her head.

"Time for a nap sweetheart" said the guy, right before he held the flasher device in his hand right up to her face.

Her world went dark and the effect released; so she crumpled to the floor. Someone kicked the axe away. She woke sometime later bound to a chair, both hand and foot, in a metal room. One wall had a huge glass panel, that she assumed meant one-way glass. A few seconds later the door opened and in walked a man. He was a skinny little twig of a man with a really big nose, he reminded her of a bird. He calmly sat across from her and just regarded her for a few minutes. He set some sort of tablet on the table before him.

"One-time ship destroyed, four ships damaged, four time masters and two cadets injured, and a group of dangerous criminals on the loose with a time ship. You leave quite a bit of damage in your wake young lady" said the man

She just sat there staring at him, if he expected remorse he would be sadly disappointed. When he failed to illicit a response he snorted.

"All right down to business it is, where is warehouse 13 Miss Pence?" said the man

She mentally dubbed him birdy in her head. She smirked and went off where the show said it was, somewhere in the Nevada desert.

"somewhere in Nevada" said Riley

"Where and when in Nevada?" said Birdy

She shrugged.

"Don't know or care, wouldn't do you any good anyways" said Riley

"Why not?" said birdy

"Because they'll relocate as soon as I miss the rendezvous time, which I am sure I have already done" said Riley

The man frowned and ran a hand through his hair. She absently noted he had a receding hairline and that he looked like an anime character when he did that.

"Where would they go?' said Birdy

"That is none of your business" said Riley

"Actually I beg to differ it is very much our business Miss Pence, if that is even your real name, this is very serious your pirate friends cannot be allowed to muck around time to their hearts content, we would appreciate your cooperation in this" said birdy

"no, but if you want to beg?" said Riley

"I'm sorry what do you mean?" said birdy

"I mean no, negative I will not aid you, you are on your own and every other thing that means essentially the same thing. I will not help you capture my friends, so your lot can kill them. You want to find them start searching birdy" said Riley

The man glared at her in response.

"Wow, you are a very ill-mannered spiteful child aren't you?" said Birdy

She snorted in response and glared at the man.

"So what, spit it out already why are you really here?" said Riley

The man sighed.

"Despite your very obvious cooperation with criminals and no we do not buy the kidnapping story, you are too young to incarcerate indefinitely and have done nothing that would warrant execution as of yet" said birdy

"Great so let me go" said Riley

The man chuckled in response.

"No, the council has other plans, you Miss Pence are a very remarkable girl despite your uncouth ways" said Birdy

She gave him a confused look in response.

"You not only managed to release yourself from captivity on a time ship, but you freed your friends as well. You overrode two AI programs, piloted two time ships on manual and came very close to winning a firefight against three of our vessels in only a jump ship. Then you almost won yourself free a second time by anticipating our tactics and using countermeasures to overcome them" said birdy

"Yeah, except you lot cheat" said Riley

The man chuckled.

"All is fair in love and war my dear, which brings me to why I am here…." said birdy

"No" said Riley

"I'm sorry what is it you are refusing?" said birdy

"The first time master tried that and the answer is no, I'm not interested" said Riley

The man frowned at her.

"I doubt you will have much choice in the matter, you are scheduled to appear before the council later you may iterate your misgivings to them but first I have some questions" said birdy

She remembered she had refused to answer most of his questions and seemed to enjoy frustrating the man. He left with very little of the information he sought and what he did get was all lies. The council fared no better than birdy did and she actually told them off twice. They still insisted she was time master material and she ended up at some sort of orphanage for future time masters they called the sanctuary.

The woman there tried unsuccessfully to tame Riley's stubborn ways and in the end she managed to slip away when the woman made the mistake of trusting her. When someone from the academy came to take her and the new recruits to the dorms. She hid on his ship, and stole it, while he was escorting the kids into the academy.

She ditched it in Southern California in the late eighties and took a train then a bus to San Francisco. It took John three months to come get her.

Present day

Riley frowned at what Snart had said, her hand unconsciously reaching for her hair. Oh no, that bastard didn't. She started swearing and Snart gave her a confused look when she started pulling out hair clips and stomping on them on the way back to the ship. When one of them crunched revealing a microphone Snart realized why. Snart reached down and picked up the pieces

"Oh man he's in for it now" said Snart, as he followed the now furious Riley into the ship. She found him on the fight deck looking over the map of the prison.

"You two faced cheating asshole!" said Riley

Rip tried to look innocent really he did, until Snart tossed what was left of his bugging device on the table. Rip groaned and closed his eyes

"Guess she's smarter than you think she is, captain" said Snart

He smirked and moved aside to watch. Riley was about to rip into the captain and he wanted to see it.

"I can explain" said Rip

Riley was seething and wanted to blast the man into a wall because now she remembered exactly who he was, fortunately he didn't recognize her at her current age.

"It better be good" she hissed in response

Rip swallowed because she sounded truly livid and he was currently worried about his safety.

"I was simply concerned for your safety as was Mr. Snart, clearly it was unfounded" said Rip

"Hey don't bring me into this, she's your girl" said Snart

She opened her mouth to protest that title when she remembered Rip had heard everything that they had talked about in the restaurant. Rip smirked ever so slightly when she didn't protest that statement.

"You mean you were jealous and concerned I would sleep with the man" said Riley

"Yes, yes I was, is that what you wanted to hear? That I was bothered by how readily you accepted a stranger, a criminal stranger's invitation to dinner and god knows what else afterwards. Would that make you happy to know that I was truly afraid he would hurt you and how horrified I am when that does not even seem to faze you when you place yourself in danger like that? I love you Riley, is that what you want me to say? You seriously frighten me sweetheart, when you do things like that. So yes, I did bug you but I had good reason to, but I do apologize once again for not heeding your privacy" said Rip

She wanted to yell at him, to stomp her feet and scream at him to mind his own business and that she didn't need him. Something stopped her however and she was starting to see what Yuri meant, she had been putting up walls and they were frighteningly high. She had done it ever since she was a child and she lost her first family she had been so busy trying to keep from being hurt that she had forgotten how to feel all together.

She gave him a sad look, because no she didn't want to hear that he loved her already, she would rather he ran as far away from her as he can get. She needed to diffuse this and to do so now.

"No, that is not what I wanted to hear. I am sorry that I worry you but I am incredibly adept at taking care of myself, which is why I do not react to danger the way you expect me to. Part of a relationship is trust and I just don't feel that I can trust you because you seem unwilling to trust me. Here's the information he promised, now if you don't mind I would like to be alone for a while, call me when the planning starts" said Riley, as she passed by Snart

"Will do sweetheart" said Snart

Rip watched her go, with a shocked look on his face. She didn't trust him? He lowered his head and looked at the tabletop. The square of paper mocked him and he closed his eyes. Truthfully he had done everything in his power to undermine her trust in him, it was no wonder she reacted the way she did.

The others were right he needed to start trusting her judgement, she could handle herself he saw that she could, he just needed to ignore his protective instincts and let her lead. He sighed, wow that's going to be harder than it sounds.

Snart was staring at him, then the man sighed.

"Look I'm not good with the touchy feely stuff but the girl has a point your scaring her with all this overprotective crap and you need to stop, though on a side note I didn't trust him either and I would be jealous too if my girl was so willing to go on a date with another man" said Snart

Rip nodded in understanding and opened the small square of paper. In it was an access point and the names of several guards that were friendly to their cause. What was provided would make it easier to break in now all they had to do was figure out how.

Riley was sitting in her cabin trying to decide if she was worried, scared or in shock. Rip had just admitted that he loved her and truthfully he was the first guy to ever do that.

The problem was she didn't actually trust him, all of her old instincts when it came to time masters were telling her to run away, very far away. Except Yuri was right she did need to stop running or she never would. She groaned and leaned back on the bed. Damn time geek why did he have to fall for her?

Someone knocked on the door. She rolled her eyes what part of alone did everyone fail to...

"come in" said Riley

Kendra came through the door.

"Hey Kendra what's up?" said Riley

"How did it go?" said Kendra

She looked worried as well and Riley realized that the captain hadn't been the only one who was concerned for her safety.

"Fine I got the information and made friends with a mob boss and thankfully didn't have to sleep with him to do it" said Riley

Kendra sighed in relief and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Well that's great, really had us worried there for a minute" said Kendra

"Worried for me or Rip?" said Riley

"You, you shouldn't have to do anything like that to get the information we needed" said Kendra

"I still would have, if it came down to it" said Riley

Kendra gave her a sad look and hugged her.

"Please don't, we would find another way if it came to that" said Kendra

Riley leaned into the hug because truly she did need one.

"Rip told me he loved me" said Riley, while her head was still on Kendra's shoulder.


	21. Chapter 21

Wave 21

Kendra hesitantly drew back.

"He said what?" said Kendra

Riley sighed and looked down.

"That he loved me" said Riley

Kendra eyed her for a moment.

"and that makes you sad?" said Kendra

Riley nodded yes, because yeah it did make her sad; that he was giving up any chance he had of saving his family to be with her, when she had no intention of making it through this.

"Why?" said Kendra

Riley shoved the urge to groan away and replied with the only explanation she could give without giving everything else away.

"Cause, I'm worried he's giving up on his family to pursue me" said Riley

It was partly true; she was worried he was doing that; it just wasn't all of the truth. Kendra frowned and hugged her again.

"Oh sweetheart; so am I, but maybe he needs this. I know this is going to sound bad, but what if he can't save his family? Do you really want him to continue to torture himself trying?" said Kendra

Riley shook her head no. That she definitely did not want either. The man had been through enough already; she didn't want him to add self-torture to the list. She started to say more but then Gideon interrupted them.

"Miss Anderson, your presence is requested on the flight deck" said Gideon Kendra frowned and followed Riley as she left, wondering why she didn't receive a summons too. Riley was thinking as she walked down the halls. She really wasn't ready to face Rip as of yet but their friends needed them to hurry; so she quickly buried her misgivings and entered the room. Kendra followed her in and Jax followed Snart. Rip was leaning over the map looking pensive and nervous for some reason.

They took up positions around the table and Riley did her best to stay near Kendra and away from Rip. She needed to concentrate and the man was playing havoc with her emotions. He saw where she chose to stand and gave her a hurt look.

"According to Yuri this is where his men have access" said Rip

he touched two places on the map. The view expanded to give them a closer view of those sections.

"Yuri said, he has several of the guards on his payroll but they only have access to here" said Rip

He touched an area within the prison itself.

"what is this area?" said Riley

She touched the area directly next to it.

"The part savage controls" said Rip with a sigh

"Which means that is where they have our friends" said Kendra

"yeah more than likely" said Rip

He was frowning at the screen.

"Who does have access, besides savage that is?" said Jax

"Prisoners more than likely; if all of those dead bodies are any indication" said Snart

"So transferring a prisoner would be an everyday occurrence than?" said Riley

A plan was beginning to form in her mind; now if only Rip would let her use it. They could potentially get all of their friends out of there with a minimal amount of causalities.

"Yeah more than likely, why I take it you have a plan?" said Sara

"yeah, I do" said Riley

She glanced in Rip's direction and so did the others; when they realized she was waiting for him to throw a wrench in the works. Rip swallowed nervously, he knew the others were right he had to start trusting her.

"Go ahead" said Rip

The others looked vaguely surprised at his words.

"Okay, whoever is going in needs to obtain some guard uniforms from here…." said Riley

She hesitated on touching the screen because she wasn't sure if Gideon would respond to her or not. Rip realized why she was hesitating and decided to extend his trust just a little bit more. If she was going to trust him, he had to trust her as well.

"Gideon Miss Anderson has access to all of the Wave rider's systems from this point on" said Rip

The group stared at him in opened mouth shock, even Snart looked shocked.

"You do realize she can steal your ship out from under you now?" said Snart

Rip nodded and looked right at Riley.

"She always could before, I am simply trusting her not to" said Rip

She wasn't sure how to react to his sudden show of trust because she wasn't certain she wouldn't betray it if she had to. Jax shook his head in acceptance.

"Too true" said Jax

"Okay…ah…yeah…now where was I?" said Riley

"The plan?" said Kendra

"Oh yeah, once we have the uniforms we will need to provide a distraction to get into where they are being held…" said Riley

"This isn't my first prison break sweetheart" said Snart

Riley smirked.

"Good, because I am sure you would know the best way to distract a bunch of guards" said Riley

"A riot" said Rip

Riley nodded yes because that was precisely what she had been thinking.

"Yeah but how do we cause one from out here?" said Kendra

"Drop it from above?" said Jax

They nodded because that could work.

"Great so how can we help?" said Kendra

"We've got it covered" said Snart

He gave Riley a look and she nodded slightly, she understood exactly what he was trying to say.

"By staying on the ship we don't need any more causalities, besides Mr. Snart, Miss Anderson and Miss Lance have it covered" said Rip

Jax opened his mouth to protest.

"Actually you two can help with the distraction" said Riley

Rip frowned but didn't correct her.

"By what?" said Kendra

Riley grinned because she had thought of the perfect riot inducing distraction.

"You two are going to be making the mother of all fast food purchases" said Riley Everyone gave her strange looks except Snart.

"and how exactly are they going to pay for that?" said Rip

"I have that covered but we're going to have to make a quick stop at my bank" said Riley

"bank?" said Jax

"Yeah I um, deposited some of my… err… gains, back in the old west and I am fairly certain the account is still active because I checked it in the seventies" said Riley

"Wait what? The interest on that…." said Kendra

"would make me hella rich, yeah that was the idea" said Riley

Rip was frowning at her, because she had manipulated the timeline but it was nothing against the time master's laws.

"I take it you have the necessary documentation to prove you're the owner of that account?" said Rip

Snart started laughing and they all turned to look at him in confusion

"She's her own grandma" said Snart, between chuckles.

Riley blushed, because that was precisely the angle she had used to claim the account throughout the years.

"Oh my god, that is what you did isn't it?" said Sara

Riley nodded yes because they were right.

"wait, that means somewhere out there is an entire family line that is made up solely of you?" said Jax

Riley nodded yes again. Rip was staring at her in shock.

"How did? Never mind I don't want to know. What bank is it?" said Rip

"Wells Fargo" said Riley

Rip chuckled, of course she would use a bank that had been founded way back then. In a way he was absurdly proud that she had circumvented the time masters with her little scheme.

"Gideon where is the nearest Wells Fargo and fast food establishment?" said Rip "New York is the closest city that contains both captain" said Gideon

Rip sighed.

"Very well set course for New York, we've got to make this quick. As soon as miss Anderson is back from the bank; I want Mr. Jackson and miss Saunders in line at that fast food establishment" said rip

"Whoa, whoa man why does it feel like we're on the jv team all of a sudden, come on all we get to do is a burger run?" said Jax

Riley wasn't sure how to address that, so she let Rip handle it.

"What you are is one half of everything Savage needs to change the face of the cold war" said Rip

Kendra opened her mouth to protest too

"but you just can't…." said Kendra

"and you are the only person who can kill him, I am not going to gift wrap the two people in the world Savage wants the most" said Rip

"and the lynch pin on which the rest of the plan hangs, speaking of which you might want to take a third person, because I wasn't kidding about the mother of all fast food runs comment" said Riley

"Why how much are you planning to buy?" said Snart

"About fifteen hundred dollars' worth give or take a few hundred" said Riley

"Holy crap, sure hope they have enough burgers" said Snart

"Very well, I shall accompany Mr. Jackson and miss Saunders" said Rip

"we are here, the bank is a block to the north of us and a McDonald's is to the east about half a block away" said Gideon

Riley was surprised, she didn't even feel the ship move

"great Sara…" said Rip

"I'm going with her" said Sara

"So am I, there's no way I'm letting her walk even one block in New York with that kind of cash on her" said Snart

Rip nodded in understanding.

"Fair enough but please…" said Rip

"Don't rob the bank" said Riley

Snart rolled his eyes.

"Chill, not doing that without my partner, ready?" said Snart

Riley nodded and they headed for the door leaving Kendra, Jax and the captain on the ship. Rip watched Riley leave with a worried look on his face.

"I'm proud of you, I know that took an amazing amount of courage to do" said Kendra

Rip sighed and ran his hand down his face.

"I know but I'm still worried it wasn't enough" said Rip

"Hey man give her time, baby steps man just take it slow, she's not used to stuff like this. She just doesn't know how to react just yet" said Jax

"yeah from what she's told us, she has precious little interaction with the opposite sex" said Kendra

Rip nodded he had seen that as well.

"Or any sex for that matter, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a virgin" said Jax They both gave him an appraising look.

"She most likely is given her level of experience, it is no wonder my affections are startling, though it does give me wonder how it is that she has had no one express interest until now" said Rip

"Well she did run with pirates, maybe she saw stuff that grossed her out to the idea" said Jax

The others nodded at the plausibility of that statement, each wearing a grimace of disgust as their imaginations supplied images that would surly gross out a preteen girl.

"Yeah but afterwards when she was a teen? it's not like she is unattractive, someone had to at least take a passing interest" said Rip

Kendra shrugged

"Maybe she was an awkward gangly teen, you never know some people take a while to mature" said Kendra

"Yeah and she could have just been oblivious to any of the guys who were interested" said Jax

Rip sighed because that also sounded plausible as well.

"Either scenarios simply create the desire to take more care with her than before" said Rip

Kendra rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You're on the right track, just keep going okay" said Kendra

"Yeah man at least you care enough not to use her and abuse her, that's more than I can say for most guys" said Jax

He rubbed his head and looked guilty

"Yourself included?" said Rip

Jax nodded

"Yeah, I've made that mistake but I can learn from it and so can you" said Jax

Rip nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, courting Miranda was so much simpler than this; even going in front of the council when we were caught was less nerve wracking than this" said Rip with a short laugh

"She's worth it man, trust me" said Jax

Rip nodded in understanding because he did agree with Jax, yes Riley was worth it in his opinion. Now if only she would see that. Her earlier comment about understanding the danger of the situation wasn't sitting well with him and it wasn't because he was worried about placing her in danger.

Riley's party

They exited the ship only to find that Gideon had parked on the roof of a skyscraper. Fortunately, the lock on the roof access door was easy to remove thanks to Snart's freeze gun. The walk down to ground level on the other hand was annoying and long, fortunately the building only had twenty stories. They exited the building and Riley took a moment to adjust to the sunlight and the feeling of people all around her.

After living for several years in cities that were essentially grave yards; the press of humanity always took her a moment to get used to.

"You okay?" said Sara

"yeah just not used to crowds" said Riley

"better get used to it fast sweetheart, this cities nothing but crowds" said Snart Riley took a deep steadying breath, relishing in the feel of the water both flowing through the city and beyond it in the harbor. She always did love seaside communities.

"Gideon said it was this way" said Sara

They started walking in that direction and quickly spotted the bank. They entered, Riley filled out a withdrawal slip and waited in line just like anyone else. Snart was nervously looking around and noting that they had very little in the way of security. He sighed if only his partner was here, this bank would be an easy job. A teller became available and Riley walked up to the window.

"Hello, how may I help you?" said the teller

Riley noted her name tag read Angie.

"Hello Angie, I need to make a withdrawal from this account" said Riley

She slid the passbook to the woman along with a withdrawal slip she filled out when they got there. Angie typed the account information into her computer and stared at the screen in shock.

"Ah, I think I need to get a supervisor to help you with this" said Angie

She stepped away and talked to a fat balding man that looked like a stereotypical banker. The man came over to the window.

"Hello miss... Anderson?" said the man

"Yes, is there a problem?" said Riley

"Ah, I'm not sure this account seems to have been opened…well close to when this bank was established, do you have proof that it is yours?" said the man

Riley pulled out several more papers and her driver's license that she had from this time period. The man looked over the paperwork and the license.

"Well everything seems to be in order Miss Anderson, I am so sorry it was the fact that you shared the same name as the account opener that gave us pause" said the man

"That's understandable, I'm named after my great, great, great grandmother" said Riley

She firmly resisted the urge to smirk, because she was the opener of the original account and the man would shit bricks if he knew that. The man smiled at her more plausible explanation, than a two-hundred-year old woman who looks twenty, trying to withdraw money from an account established when the bank was established.

"how much would you like to withdraw today?" said the man

Riley shoved the withdrawal slip closer to him the man picked it up and she was pretty certain his eyes bugged out of his head for a second, when he scrolled down the screen to her available balance.

"Well I am pretty sure that will not be an issue, go ahead and complete the transaction Angie" said the man

"I'm going to need a bit more cash" said Angie

He nodded and headed for the back of the bank after he signed the slip. Angie typed a few more things into her computer than proceeded to hand Riley nearly the entire contents of her cashier drawer. Riley shoved it all into her bag along with the paperwork and they stepped away from the window. Angie put up her window closed sign and waited for the man to refill her drawer.

They quickly made their way to the front doors. Snart and Sara kept Riley between them the whole time as they walked down the street.

"Wow I think that's the most I've ever seen shoved into a bag except when we were robbing a place" said Snart

"Yes it is amazing what a few hundred years of interest can do to an account" said Riley

"Did you really open it when the bank was established?" said Sara

"Yep,1852 right at this branch too" said Riley with a laugh.

Snart had gone quiet on them all of a sudden and it was worrying the two girls. "thank you" said Snart

Riley eyed the man for a few seconds; to determine why he had just thanked her.

"You're welcome; I would do it for any one of my friends" said Riley

She conveniently left out that she didn't have very many of those and most of them were either dead or not even born yet. Snart however seemed to get what she meant by that comment. They reached the building with only one group of would be robbers rethinking their plan when Sara showed them one leg covered in knives.

They climbed in the elevator for the ride up and walked up the last two flights of stairs to the roof.

"Are you sure three people is going to be enough to carry all of that?" said Sara, as she walked into the flight deck.

Riley sat her bag on the console and began pulling out a stack of bills.

"I could have sworn I said not to rob the place" said Rip

Riley chuckled at his comment

"Relax we didn't, this is all from my account" said Riley

Rip flipped through the stack and did a quick mental count there was just over three grand sitting on the table.

"That's going to buy an awful lot of burgers" said Jax

"Yeah we're not going to be able to carry that much" said Kendra

"We know that is why we decided to go with you, besides feeling a bit hungry anyways" said Snart

He picked up the second stack of bills.

"Damn babe you must be richer than a Rockefeller, maybe I should have taken up piracy instead of bank robbery" said Snart

Rip pulled the stack from his hands before he could lighten it.

"With that amount of interest I would imagine she is, shall we?" said Rip

He shoved some of the money into his pockets and the others each took a stack.

"Damn I think this is the most money I've ever had in my pockets" said Jax

"Same here" said Kendra

Rip set the ship's cloaking device and they walked down the street to the nearest burger joint.

"So what exactly are we getting?" said Jax

"About four hundred cheeseburgers each should do it, and a big mac and chocolate milkshake" said Riley

They all gave her strange looks.

"What, I'm hungry too?" said Riley

They shook their heads.

"If you want to get something for you, go ahead" said Riley

"That's quite all right; I believe you have been generous enough already miss Anderson" said Rip

She gave him a hurt look and he backtracked.

"but now that you mention it I am feeling a bit peckish" said Rip

"if we're gonna get something for us, we should order that first that way we aren't trying to carry it and all of those bags" said Sara

They nodded in agreement and they approached the counter to make their food purchase and then sat down and ate it before going up to make the major purchases. The girl behind the counter stared at Jax in shock when he requested four hundred cheeseburgers to go.

At first she must have thought he was kidding, until he pulled out the cash to pay for it. The girl rang it up and the manager told them each in turn that it would be a bit of a wait. So they sat in the lobby and watched as smaller orders were filled first, as those in the grill area of the restaurant tried to make that huge amount of food. In the end they left with about fifteen bags each stuffed into empty fry boxes from the back of the store. They looked like they were delivering French fries to a homeless shelter or something when they left with their order.

Again opting to use the elevator this time around because not one of them wanted to do more than two flights of stairs with those boxes in hand. Once they were onboard Riley outlined some more of the plan. Then Jax and Kendra went to work affixing hundreds of small parachutes to each bag of food, while Gideon flew them back to Russia.

It was decided that Snart would go inside the prison and Sara would be his back up. Riley was worried about the plan succeeding and the consequences if it didn't and she could tell Rip was thinking essentially the same thing. So when they left the console to ready themselves for the next stage of the plan Riley gave him a meaning full glance that she hoped he would understand.

"Oh Miss Lance can I borrow you for a second? I have something that may help you with your mission" said Rip

Snart was halfway to the door and hesitated as if he suspected what they were about to ask Sara to do. Riley followed her into the office and closed the door behind her. Sara glanced in Riley's direction then back at Rip.

"so what did you really want to talk to me about?" said Sara


End file.
